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BV  600    .S75   1866 

Stone,  John  Seely,  1795- 

1882. 
The  living  temple,  or, 
'  Scriptural  views  of  the 


THE    LIVIE^a    TEMPLE, 


OB 


SCRIPTURAL  VIEWS   OF  THE  CHURCH. 


BY 


JOHN   S.   STONE,   D.  D., 

GEISWOLD   LECTCRKR  IN   THB   DIVINITY    SCHOOL   OF   THE   PROTESTANT   EPISCOPAL 
CHUECH   IN  PHILADELPHIA. 


UOLOGIC*!^ 


«^J 


NEW   YORK: 

ANSON    D.     F.    RANDOLPH 

No.    770    BROADWAY. 

1866. 


Entered,  according  to  the  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1865,  by 

The  PfiOTESTANT  Episcopal  Society  foe  the  Promotion  of  Evangelical  Knowledge, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the 
Southern  District  of  New  York. 


NEW    YORK : 

EDWARD    0.    JENKINS,    PRINTER, 

20  NORTH  WILLIAM  ST. 


,,-Mifij^rAik: 


PREFACE 


rr^HB  work  here  offered  to  the  public  embodies  the 
-'-  substance,  carefully  revised,  slightly  enlarged  and 
somewhat  modified,  of  what  was  some  years  ago  pub- 
lished under  the  title  of  "  The  Church  Universal."  No 
essential  change  has  been  made ;  but  the  author  ven- 
tures to  hope  that  suflQcient  improvement  has  been  ef- 
fected to  render  the  work  more  worthy  of  the  time  and 
thought  which  may  be  given  to  its  perusal. 

The  book  aims,  among  other  things,  at  two  principal 
points  :  the  Scriptural  Idea  of  the  Church  ;  and  the  ac- 
cord with  this  Idea  of  our  own  standards  and  of  the 
best  standard  writers  on  the  subject. 

1.  In  his  appeal  to  Scripture,  the  Author  has  been 
influenced  by  a  conviction  that  there  has  been,  and  still 
is,  among  us,  a  tendency  to  leave  the  Bible  too  much 
out  of  view  in  our  controversial  and  theological  discus- 
sions ;  that  unless  this  tendency  can  be  brought  within 
due  bounds,  we  are  in   danger  of  reaching   a  state,  in 

(3) 


4  PREFACE.      - 

which  argument  from  the  supreme,  all-sufficient  authority 
of  the  Word  of  God,  in  the  style  of  the  first  Christian 
writers  and  apologists,  will  fall  a  virtually  dead  weight 
on  the  minds  of  both  our  clergy  and  our  laity.  He  is 
sincerely  desirous  of  doing  what  little  he  can  towards 
lifting  the  Bible  into  that  peerless  honor  which  is  its 
heaven-born  right,  as  the  only  infallible  rule  of  faith  and 
practice  in  matters  of  religion.  To  the  inspired  Word 
nothing  can  give  either  a  meaning,  or  a  certainty,  which 
lies  not  in  its  own  sense  ;  and  from  that  Word  nothing 
but  Inspiration  can  develop  a  meaning  or  a  certainty, 
which  the  human  mind,  as  addressed  therein,  and  as 
guided  by  the  ordinary  teachings  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and 
by  other  accessible  lights,  is  unable  to  discover.  This 
is  spoken  of  doctrines,  or  truths  designed  to  govern  moral 
and  religious  faith  and  practice.  Testimony  to  facts,  and 
determination  of  doctrines,  are  different  things.  So  far 
as  testimony  may  be  needed  in  establishing  such  facts 
as  the  application  of  Baptism  to  infants,  the  change  of 
the  Day  of  Rest,  the  origin  of  Episcopacy  with  the 
Apostles,  and  the  prevalence  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Trin- 
ity, or  of  any  other  doctrine,  as  a  matter  of  history,  we 
may  receive  that  testimony,  if  good  and  sufficient  in  kind 
and  amount,  just  as  we  receive  any  other  good  and  suf- 
ficient human  testimony  ;  regarding  it  as  adequate  to  the 
reasonable  proof  of  any  fact  possible  under  the  govern- 


PREFACE.  5 

ment  of  God.  But  we  cannot  receive  any  exterior  doc- 
uments, or  authority,  as  necessary  and  sufficient  to  deter- 
mine, with  infallible  certainty,  what  are  the  otherwise 
undiscoverable  doctrines  of  the  Bible,  without  thereby 
elevating  those  documents,  or  that  authority,  to  a  cer- 
tainty and  a  value  above  those  of  the  Bible  itself.  If, 
in  matters  of  doctrinal  truth,  the  Bible,  under  the  ordi- 
nary teachings  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  amid  the  light 
with  which  Divine  Providence  has  surrounded  it,  cannot 
disclose  its  own  sense  to  that  mind  of  man  which  it 
addresses,  then  nothing  lower  than  a  new  and  clearer 
Revelation  can  be  made  an  infallible  interpreter  of  that 
sense.  Such  a  revelation,  if  given,  could  never  be  safely 
received,  unless  accredited  by  miracles  ;  and,  so  accred- 
ited, that  Revelation  would  at  once  take  rank,  for  cer- 
tainty of  authority  and  for  eminence  of  value,  above  the 
ancient  Scriptures.  Hence  the  peril  of  receiving  Tradi- 
tion in  any  form,  as  a  necessary  and  infallible  inter- 
preter of  the  doctrinal  sense  of  the  Bible.  To  be  of 
any  higher  authority  than  ordinary  testimony,  of  any 
higher  value  to  interpretation  than  ordinary  human  helps. 
Tradition  must  necessarily  take  rank  with  Revelation  ; 
and  when  used  to  fix  on  the  doctrinal  sense  of  the  Bible 
an  infallible  interpretation  not  otherwise  discoverable,  it 
must  necessarily  take  rank  above  the  Bible.  And  yet, 
the  Tradition  of  which  so  much  is  made  can  show  no 


6  PREFACE. 

diviuely-accrediting  seals.  The  gravest  suspicion  may 
well  be  considered  as  resting  on  all  pretensions  to  mir- 
acle since  the  Apostolic  Age. 

The  tendency  of  the  Doctrine  of  Tradition,  as  a  neces- 
sary and  infallible  interpreter  of  the  Bible,  may  be  seen 
in  the  celebrated  "  Essay  on  the  Development  of  Chris- 
tian Doctrine,"  and  in  the  resulting  movement  of  its 
Author.  The  starting  point  of  that  Doctrine  of  Tradi- 
tion cannot  be  distinctly  and  intelligently  assumed,  and 
the  line  which  flows  from  that  point  cannot  be  logically 
and  honestly  followed,  without  reaching  an  elevation  of 
Authority  and  value  above  the  Word  of  God.  The 
Doctrine  develops  itself  into  Romanism,  and  its  advo- 
cates into  Romanists.  If  either  the  Church  or  an  indi- 
vidual start  from  the  point  of  Tradition,  as  above  de- 
fined, the  line  of  development,  flowing  from  that  point, 
will  certainly  lead  its  follower  into  Rome.  The  indi- 
vidual, indeed,  may  die  before  reaching  that  result,  or 
various  strong  influences  may  hold  him  back,  or  turn 
him  aside,  from  the  advance  of  rectilinear  logic  and  sym- 
pathy ;  but  nothing  else  can  keep  him  from  reaching 
and  entering  the  gate  that  opens  into  the  inclosure  both 
of  Romish  theology  and  of  Romish  superstition. 

2.  In  his  appeal  to  Standard  Writers,  the  Author 
feels  a  confidence  inspired  by  facts  too  plain  to  be  de- 
nied.    Even  the  advocates  of  the  ultra-Episcopal  theory 


PBEFAGE.  7 

of  the  Cliurch  admit  that  the  testimony  of  the  writers 
of  the  English  Church  in  the  Sixteenth  and  Seventeenth 
Centuries  is  decidedly  in  favor  of  the  Definition  of  the 
Church  given  in  the  following  pages.  Indeed,  that  tes- 
timony is  too  explicit  and  harmonious  to  be  disputed  or 
set  aside.  The  only  way  in  which  it  can  be  met,  is  by 
ascribing  that  testimony  to  undue  sympathy  with  the 
Continental  Reformers,  and  to  ignorance  of  the  Value 
of  certain  Patristic  testimony,  the  credit  of  which,  it  is 
said,  has  since  been  established.  The  plea,  in  substance, 
is,  that  the  English  and  Continental  Reformers  were 
fellow-sufferers  in  the  persecutions  which  Rome  waged 
against  her  reforming  opponents  ;  and  that,  therefore, 
it  is  no  wonder  if,  in  their  strong  feelings  of  affection 
for  each  other,  and  of  dislike  to  the  common  persecutor, 
the  English  Writers  were  led  too  far  in  admitting  the 
claims  of  the  Non-Episcopal  Reformed  bodies  on  the 
Continent  to  the  character  of  Churches,  or  parts  of  the 
one  true  Church  of  Christ ;  especially  since,  at  the  time 
of  the  Reformation,  and  in  the  Seventeenth  Century,  the 
Epistles  of  Ignatius  were  not  free  from  a  suspicion  of 
their  authenticity.  This  suspicion  has  since  been  re- 
moved, and  the  Ignatian  Epistles  are  now  available  to 
the  Episcopal  argument  in  all  the  explicitness  and 
strength  of  their  testimony.  Had  those  Epistles  been 
in  credit  at  the  Reformation,  as  they  are  now,  the  Eng- 


8  ,         PREFACE. 

lish  Reformers  and  their  immediate  successors  would  not 
have  admitted,  as  they  did,  the  Church  character  of  the 
Continental  Reformed  Christians.  A  few  words  on  both 
parts  of  this  plea. 

(1.)  As  to  the  former  part :  If  sympathy  under  com- 
mon persecution  can  make  Protestants  recognize  each 
other  as  fellow-members  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  and 
Protestant  Communions  acknowledge  each  others  claims 
to,  at  least,  the  substance  of  Church  character,  there 
would  be  one  blessing,  if  no  more,  in  making  such  per- 
secutions perpetual.  That  the  English  Reformers  sym- 
pathized tenderly  with  the  Continental  Reformed  Chris- 
tians in  their  trials,  there  can  be  no  doubt ;  but,  that 
their  sympathy  blinded  their  judgments,  or  made  them 
indifferent  to  the  loss  of  the  Episcopacy  among  their 
companions  in  suffering— this  is  a  very  slender  pretense, 
opposed  by  abundant  testimony  to  the  contrary.  The 
language  of  Bp.  Hall  expressed  not  his  own  sentiments 
alone,  but  those  of  others  as  well,  when  he  thus  wrote  : 
•'  Oh !  How  oft,  and  with  what  deep  sighs,  hath  this 
most  flourishing  and  happy  Church  of  England  wished 
that  she  might,  with  some  of  her  own  blood,  have  pur- 
chased unto  her  dearest  sisters  abroad  the  retention  of 
this  most  ancient  and  every  way  best  of  Governments  ;" 
that  is,  the  retention  of  Church  Government  by  the 
Episcopacy. 


PREFACE.  9 

Again  :  "  It  is  not  the  variety  of  by-opinions  that 
can  exclude  them  from  their  part  in  the  One  Catholic 
Church  and  their  just  claim  to  the  Communion  of  Saints. 
While  they  hold  the  solid  and  precious  foundation,  it  is 
not  the  hay  or  stubble,  which  they  lay  upon  it,  that  can 
set  them  off  from  God  and  His  Church.  But,  in  the 
meantime,  it  must  be  granted,  that  they  have  much  to 
answer  for  to  the  God  of  peace  and  unity  who  are  so 
addicted  to  their  own  conceits,  and  so  indulgent  to  their 
own  interest,  as  to  raise  and  maintain  new  doctrines, 
and  to  set  up  new  sects  in  the  "  Church  of  Christ "  (in, 
not  out  of  the  Church),  "  varying  from  the  common  and 
received  truths  ;  laboring  to  draw  disciples  after  them, 
to  the  great  distraction  of  souls  and  scandal  of  Chris- 
tianity." 

The  English  Reformers  and  their  immediate  success- 
ors were  neither  blind  nor  indifferent  to  the  value  and 
the  obligation  of  Episcopacy.  All  their  sympathy  with 
their  suffering  brethren  on  the  Continent  could  not  have 
extorted  from  them  an  acknowledgment  of  Church  char- 
acter without  Episcopacy,  had  they  not,  as  students  of 
the  Bible  and  antiquity,  been  convinced  that  Episcopacy 
however  valuable  and  obligatory,  is  not,  in  such  sense, 
essential  to  the  being  of  the  Church  ;  that,  without  it, 
the  Church  cannot  exist. 

(2.)    As  to  the  latter  part  of  the  plea  :    It  is  true 


lo  PREFACE. 

that  the  Ignatian  Epistles  are  now  admitted  to  be  au- 
thentic ;  but  it  is  not  universally  conceded  that  they  are 
free  from  interpolations.  Mr.  Cureton,  a  learned  Orien- 
talist in  England,  some  time  since  published,  and,  by 
permission,  dedicated  to  the  Primate  of  the  English 
Church,  an  interpretation  of  the  Syriac  version  of  three 
of  those  Epistles  ;  which,  as  there  is  said  to  be  little 
reason  for  considering  them  abridgments,  would  show 
that  the  expurgated  Greek  copies  in  ordinary  use,  much 
as  their  former  contents  have  been  reduced,  still  contain 
many  interpolations  ;  and,  what  is  remarkable  in  this 
shorter  Syriac  version,  almost  all  the  strong  passages  on 
the  subject  of  Episcopacy  are  wanting.  Allowing,  how- 
ever, that  the  common  Greek  copies  are  both  authentic 
and  genuine,  or  that  Ignatius  wrote  all  the  strong  pas- 
sages ascribed  to  him  on  the  subject  of  Episcopacy,  this 
makes  him  not  a  teacher  of  the  ultra-Episcopal  dogma. 
You  search  those  Epistles  in  vain  for  that  Idea  of  the 
Apostolical  Succession  which  makes  Ordination  a  Sacra- 
ment, transmitting  not  merely  Office,  but  a  certain  mys- 
terious Sacerdotal  Power,  on  the  possession  of  which, 
from  the  Apostles'  hands,  through  the  line  of  Bishops 
alone,  depend  the  validity  and  efficacy  of  all  other  sacra- 
ments and  ministerial  acts.  Not  one  of  the  strong  pas- 
sages referred  to  represents  Ordination  as  the  exclusive 
prerogative  of  Bishops  ;    not  one  speaks  of  Ordination 


PREFACE.  II 

as  conveying  that  mysterious  Sacerdotal  power.  Allow- 
ing that  he  wrote  all  those  passages,  Ignatius  was  evi- 
dently pressing  the  Episcopacy  as  simply  the  regularly- 
derived  Government  of  the  Church,  a  Government  then 
universally  received,  but  having  no  necessary  affinity 
with  the  Idea  of  a  Sacerdotal  power,  conveyed  in  Ordi- 
nation, and  without  which  there  can  be  no  valid  or  effi- 
cacious ministerial  act.  Ignatius  looked  at  Episcopacy 
as  a  Government  for  the  Church,  and  not  as  a  channel 
of  Ordination  for  the  transmission  of  any  such  myste- 
rious power.  At  least,  his  epistolary  remains  furnish  no 
evidence  of  such  ultra-Episcopacy.  A  single  passage  will 
serve  to  illustrate  these  remarks.  To  the  Magnesians, 
he  writes  :  "I  exhort  that  ye  study  to  do  all  things  in 
a  divine  concord,  your  Bishop  presiding  in  the  place  of 
God  ;  your  Presbyters  in  the  place  of  the  Council  of 
the  Apostles  ;  and  your  Deacons,  most  dear  to  me,  being 
entrusted  with  the  ministry  of  Jesus  Christ."  This,  it 
is  needless  to  say,  has  nothing  to  do  with  Ordination, 
though  it  has  much  to  do  with  Government.  It  is  sim- 
ply an  exhortation  to  concord  in  all  things  under  the 
Presidency  of  Bishops  with  their  associated  Presbyters 
and  Deacons  ;  that  is,  to  a  peaceful  and  Christian  co- 
operation with  their  proper  ecclesiastical  governors  in 
all  things  pertaining  to  the  welfare  of  the  Church. 
Similar  passages  are  of  frequent  occurrence  in  his  Epis- 


12  PREFACE. 

ties  J  and  they  sliow  how  little  Ignatius  had  to  do  with 
the  theory  of  transmitting  Sacerdotal  powers  through 
Bishops  alone. 

It  may  be  added  that  the  English  Reformers  and 
writers  of  the  Sixteenth  and  Seventeenth  Centuries  were 
not  unlearned  in  Patristics.  Usher,  at  Oxford,  in  1644, 
as  well  as  Yossius,  at  Amsterdam,  in  1646,  was  very 
learnedly  engaged  in  expurgating  these  very  Ignatian 
Epistles.  The  sacred  scholars  of  England,  in  both  cen- 
turies, studied  the  fathers  deeply,  and  the  Bible  pro- 
foundly ;  and  thus,  well  versed  in  both,  and,  withal, 
skilled  as  few  have  since  been  in  meeting  all  the  turns 
and  foiling  all  the  movements  of  the  Romish  Argument 
on  the  subject  of  the  Church,  they  adopted  the  only 
Church  theory  which  can  stand  this  side  of  an  admis- 
sion of  the  entire  claim  of  Rome. 

The  English  Reformation  theory  of  the  Church,  giv- 
ing Episcopacy  its  due  place  of  value  and  of  obligation, 
yet  leaving  to  all  Christians  an  open  ground  of  common 
membership  in  the  Church  of  Christ,  a  ground  on  which 
they  may  all  come  together  in  the  work  of  kindly  draw- 
ing all  hearts  into  one  feeling  of  love,  and  of  lovingly 
uniting  all  mouths  in  one  profession  of  faith,  has,  as 
the  Author  believes,  the  Bible  for  its  base  and  the  mind 
of  God  for  its  origin.  It  is,  peradventure,  the  only 
Window   in   the   roof  of  our  Ark   through   which   light 


PREFACE.  13 

from  Heaven  can  come  in  upon  the  darkness  of  those 
confusions  and  divisions  into  which  the  Church  has 
fallen,  and  make  manifest  the  secret  of  peace,  love,  and 
concord  among  all  who  name  themselves  of  Christ. 
Cheerfully,  therefore,  and  trustingly,  does  he  again  bid 
this  little  work  go  forth  to  do  whatever  God  may  make 
it  the  instrument  of  doing  in  the  blessed  work  of  filling 
the  world  with  the  spiritual  reign  of  the  Prince  of 
Peace. 

Bow-Mount,  1866. 


CONTENTS. 

•♦« 

PART  I. 
THE     CHUKCH    AS    A    SPIRITUAL    BODY. 

CHAPTER  I. 
Definitions  of  the  Church ly 

CHAPTER  11. 
Testimony  of  Scripture — Metaphors 39 

CHAPTER  III. 
Testimony  of  Scripture— Literal  Texts 64 

CHAPTER  IV^. 

Distinction  between  Visible  and  Spiritual  Church;  with  Testimony  of 

Standards 96 

CHAPTER  V. 
Testimony  of  Standard  Writers 123 

PART    II. 

THE     CHURCH,    AS    A   VISIBLE     BODY. 

CHAPTER   I. 
Scripture  View  op  the  Visible  Church 149 

CHAPTER  II. 

Our  Standards,  and  Standard  Writers  on  the  Visible  Church 174 

(16) 


i6  CONTENTS, 

PART    III. 

WELL-BEING    OF    THE    VISIBLE    CHURCH. 

CHAPTER    I. 
On  toe  Ministrt 199 

CHAPTER  II. 
Well-Being  of  the  Visible  Church— Government 221 

CHAPTER  III. 
Well-Being  op  the  Visible  Church — Worship 251 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Well-Being  op  the  Visible  Church—  Schism 281 

CHAPTER  V. 
Well-Being  of  the  Visible  Church- Unity 305 

CHAPTER  VI. 
The  Church  in  Heaven  329 


PART   I 


THE  CHURCH,   AS  A  SPIRITUAL  BODY 


THE    LIYII^G    TEMPLE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

DEFINITIONS   OF   THE   CHURCH. 

T"N  selecting  a  subject  for  my  first  course  of 
-^  Prelections  in  this  Divinity  School,  I  have  en- 
deavored to  find  some  topic  not  unrelated  to  your 
general  course  of  study  ;  at  the  same  time,  not 
to  trench  on  any  Department,  in  which  you  have 
other  and  abler  teachers  ;  and  yet  to  light  upon 
some  matter,  which  my  own  previous  pursuits  may 
be  supposed  to  qualify  me,  in  some  measure,  to 
discuss. 

These  views  have,  at  length,  induced  me  to  in- 
vite your  attention  to  the  subject  of  The  Church  ; 
not,  however,  as  seen  under  the  aspect  and  within 
the  department  of  Ecclesiastical  Polity,  nor  as 
viewed  amid  the  lights  and  affected  by  the  inci- 
dents of  Ecclesiastical  History,  but  as  presented  to 
us,  mainly,  on  the  pages  of  the  Bible. 

This,  so  far  as  the  Christian  world  is  concerned, 
has  become  one  of  the  great  subjects  of  the  age. 
It  is  occupying  profoundly  the  thoughts  of  almost 

(19) 


20  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

all  thoaghtful  Christians  ;  and,  peradventure,  of 
many  who  are  kept  by  their  ponderings  on  it  from 
becoming  Christians.  The  Church  ?  What  is  it, 
where  is  it,  and  how  may  I  know  that  I  belong  to 
it?  These  are  queries  which  our  times  have 
revived  with  an  interest  unfelt  for  ages.  After 
having  been  long  put — not  out  of  sight  among 
Protestants,  but — behind  the  main  truths  of  Chris- 
tianity, they  have  been  again  brought  forward, 
placed  in  the  foreground,  and  made  to  demand  a 
distinct  answer.  Such  an  answer  they  need  at  all 
times,  but  especially  from  the  teachers  of  the  pres- 
ent generation. 

Nor  is  this  question  unrelated  to  your  present 
general  course  of  study.  Christ  and  His  Cross  are, 
indeed,  what,  as  preachers  of  the  Gospel,  you  most 
need  to  know  ;  yet  the  Church,  though  not  Christ, 
is  His  mystical  Body  ;  though  it  cannot  stand  in 
Christ's  stead,  as  a  Saviour,  yet  it  exists  in  the 
world  as  His  Servant ;  though  it  cannot  make  the 
Gospel  which  it  is  to  preach,  yet  it  can  and  should 
preach  the  Gospel  of  which  He  is  the  center  and 
the  subject ;  though  it  cannot  give  life  through  the 
sacraments,  yet  it  does  administer  the  sacraments 
of  Him  who  giveth  life  through  Himself  When, 
therefore,  we  speak  of  the  Church,  provided  we 
speak  right  things,  we  do,  in  truth,  teach  Christ ; 
we   teach   that   in   which   He   is   intimately  con- 


DEFIXITI0F8  OF  THE  CHURCE.  21 

cerned,  tliat  which  holds  intimate  relationship  with 
Him. 

Since,  then,  this  question  needs  an  answer,  and 
since  a  right  answer  has  so  close  relation  to  your 
chief  study,  let  us  proceed  to  seek  for  some  clear, 
and,  should  God  so  favor  us,  some  just  conclusions 
on  this  great  topic  of  the  day.  What  is  the 
Church,  and  who  belong  to  it  ?  The  Church,  in  itr> 
comprehension,  with  some  thoughts  as  to  what 
affects  its  well-being,  is  the  theme  on  which  we 
enter. 

1.  The  Romanist,  then,  defines  the  Church,  in 
its  Catholicism,  universality,  or  comprehension,  as 
that  visible  Society  only,  of  professing  Christians, 
which  holds  and  submits  to  its  one  temporal, 
human  head,  the  Pope,  and  which,  under  this  head, 
has  communion  in  all  the  so-called  Sacraments  of 
that  Church.  All  other  bodies  called  Christian, 
for  whatever  reason  they  may  have  been  cut  off, 
and  however  they  may  call  themselves  Churches, 
do  not,  in  his  view,  belong  to  the  One  Catholic  or 
Universal  Church.  To  him  the  Greek,  Armenian, 
Syrian,  and  Coptic,  the  English  and  American 
Episcopal,  with  all  other  Protestant  Bodies — 
planted,  as  these  communities  are,  with  all  their 
millions,  from  end  to  end  of  the  earth — though 
they  may  retain  some  portions  of  Christian  truth, 
and   though    many  of  them,    as   individuals,  may 


22  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE, 

peradventure  be  saved,  yet,  are  not  Churches,  nor 
do  they  belong  to  the  One  Catholic  Church  in  the 
World.  They  are  but  heretical  or  schismatical 
Sects,  and  have  neither  part  nor  lot  in  the  One 
true  Church.  To  him,  the  Roman  communion 
embraces  this  Church,  ''  Totus,  teres^  .  atque 
rotundusy 

2.  Again,  the  Exclusive  Episcopalian,  eschew- 
ing, as  far  as  he  may,  the  name  of  Protestant, 
adopts  a  view  of  the  Church  somewhat  more  com- 
prehensive. He  defines  the  Church  as  that  visible 
Society  of  professing  Christians  which  holds  and 
submits  to  an  Episcopal  ministry,  and  has  a  com- 
mon union  in  Sacraments  Episcopally  administered. 
This  definition  includes,  within  the  Catholic  pale, 
the  Romish,  Greek,  and  other  Oriental  Churches, 
together  with  the  English,  American,  and  other 
Episcopal  bodies.  All  these,  it  is  admitted,  exist 
as  separate  ecclesiastical  organizations  ;  and  so 
long  as  they  neither  hold  free  intercommunion,  nor 
acknowledge  one  visible  unity,  their  sej^aration, 
though  it  leaves  them  still  within  the  Catholic  pale, 
is  yet  one  of  the  sorest  and  most  to  be  deprecated 
of  evils ;  and  its  removal  is  to  be  sought  as  one 
of  the  highest  attainable  blessings.  But,  at  this 
point,  the  limit  of  Catholicism  with  this  class  of 
definers  is  reached.  According  to  them,  all  Pro- 
testant, or  other  religious  bodies,  not  Episcopally 


DEFINITIONS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 


23 


constituted,  however  numerous,  full  of  spiritual 
life,  and  active  in  spreading  the  knowledge  of 
Christ  and  the  blessings  of  Christianity  to  the  ends 
of  the  earth,  do  not  belong  to  the  Church.  They 
may  hold  much  Christian  truth  ;  and,  as  individu- 
als, many  of  them  may  be  saved  ;  but  they  are  not 
Churches,  nor  parts  of  the  Church  ;  they  are  but 
heretical  or  schismatical  sects,  and  their  existence 
as  such  is  an  evil  of  the  gravest,  most  afflictive 
magnitude.  The  Church's  labor  should  be  to  re- 
absorb them  into  herself,  while,  at  the  same  time, 
seeking  to  recover  her  own  lost  visible  unity.  Sub- 
mission to  a  universal  Episcopacy,  claiming  the 
supernaturally  derived  power  of  conveying  the 
Holy  Grhost,  and  the  real  Body  and  blood  of  Chrjst, 
in  ordination  and  in  sacraments,  is,  upon  this  the- 
ory, the  indispensable  requisite,  not  only  to  the 
integrity  and  perfectness,  but  to  the  very  existence, 
of  the  Church. 

3.  And  now,  to  those,  who  cannot  adopt,  as  their 
own,  either  of  the  foregoing  definitions  of  the 
Church, — and,  for  one,  I  acknowledge  myself  of 
this  class — it  remains  to  seek  a  third.  In  seeking 
this  third  definition,  however,  which  I  hope  to  make 
exhaustive,  I  propose  to  approach  it,  not  directly, 
but  through  some  preparatory  views,  taken  from 
Scriptural  points  of  observation. 

1.  And  first,— The  design  of  God,  in  the  revela- 


24 


TUE   LIVING  TEMPLE. 


tion  of  His  will  and  in  the  Incarnation  of  His  Son, 
is  to  save  men  from  sin,  and  to  make  them  partak- 
ers of  eternal  life.  This  design,  as  realized  in  the 
sinner,  requires  a  thorough  reconciliation  to  his 
Heavenly  Sovereign,  on  the  simple  terms  of  "  Re- 
pentance toward  God  and  faith  toward  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ."  Acts,  20:21 — an  individual  and 
hearty  concurrence  in  the  Divine  counsel  of  Ee- 
demption.  Every  person  thus  reconciled,  is  said 
to  be  "justified  by  faith  ;  "  and  hath  ''  peace  with 
God,  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.''  Rom.  5  :  L 
Every  one,  thus  justified,  is  "  renewed  in  the  spirit 
of  his  mind,"  lives  *'  a  godly  life,''  grows  in  holi- 
ness, and  has,  even  on  earth,  the  beginning  of  the 
true  life  eternal.  This  eternal  life  now  "abideth 
in  him  ;  "  he  has  already  entered  on  the  foretaste 
of  his  salvation.  Hence  the  words  of  Christ :  "  He 
that  heareth  my  word,  and  believeth  on  Him  that 
sent  me,  hath  everlasting  life,  and  shall  not  come 
into  condemnation  ;  but  is  passed  " — passed  already 
— ''  from  death  unto  life."  John,  5  :  24.  This  as- 
surance, in  its  original,  essential  truth,  is  tied  to 
no  observance  of  outward  institutions.  It  brings 
to  view  nothing  but  the  Saviour  and  the  sinner  ; 
the  Saviour's  word  and  the  sinner's  faith  ;  that  faith 
which  is  always  followed  by  repentance  and  holi- 
ness. It  is  an  assurance,  based  essentially  on  an 
inner  transaction  between  Christ  and  the  true  be- 


DEFINITIONS  OF  THE  CHURCH.  25 

liever.  Wherever  the  Word  goes  and  is  received 
into  the  faith  of  the  heart,  there  is  the  basis  of  this 
Divine  assurance,  "he  is  passed  from  death  unto 
life."  This  is  the  reason,  not  merely  why  there 
shall  be,  but  why  there  "is,  joy  in  the  presence  of 
the  angels  of  God  over  one  sinner  that  repenteth." 
His  repentance  is  the  first  step  out  of  that  faith 
which  taketh  hold  on  eternal  life.  The  angels  see 
in  it  another  victory  for  Christ ;  another  soul  al- 
ready "  passed  from  death  unto  life." 

The  Scriptures  abound  in  this  peculiar  teaching — 
the  assurance  of  salvation  to  every  one,  be  his  out- 
ward circumstances  what  they  may  ;  who  truly  be- 
lieves in  Christ.  "  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
and  thou  shalt  be  saved."  Acts,  16  :  31.  "  Christ 
is  the  end  of  the  law  for  righteousness  to  every  one 
that  believeth."  "There  is  no  difference  between 
the  Jew  and  the  Greek,"  the  most  and  the  least 
privileged  ;  "  for  the  same  Lord  over  all  is  rich 
unto  all  that  call  upon  Him;  for  whosoever 
shall  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord  shall  be 
saved."  Rom.  10:  4,  12,  13.  Whosoever  calleth 
in  that  faith,  which  "  cometh  by  hearing,"  as  hear- 
ing "  cometh  by  the  word  of  God,"  shall  be  saved. 
Whosoever.  It  is  impossible  to  find  a  man  with 
this  faith  under  such  peculiar  circumstances  as  to 
invalidate  the  truth  of  this  assurance — "he  shall 
be  saved."     The    eternal    Father    hath    so  bound 


26  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

Himself  to  this,  that  He  would  not  be  ''just''  were 
He  not  also  ''  the  justifier  of  him  that  believeth  in 
Jesus,"  wherever  and  whenever  this  believer  may 
be  found.  Both  "  the  Law  and  the  Prophets/'  as 
well  as  the  Gospel,  concur  in  the  ''witness''  that 
"  the  righteousness  of  God  by  faith  of  Jesus  Christ, 
is  unto  all  and  upon  all  them  that  believe."  Rom.  3  : 
21,  22,  26.  As  '^  all  have  sinned  "  and  are  alike  in 
that,  so,  among  those  who  have  this  faith,  "  there 
is  no  difference."  Nothing  can  make  a  difference 
in  favor  of  one  and  against  another,  in  whom  this 
faith  dwelleth.  "  Jesus  said,  I  am  the  Bread  of 
Life  ;  he  that  cometh  to  me  " — whoever  he  may  be, 
and  whatever  his  outward  lot — "he  that  cometh 
to  me  shall  never  hunger,  and  he  that  believeth 
on  me  shall  never  thirst."  John,  6  :  35.  "  I  am 
the  resurrection  and  the  life  :  he  that  believeth  in 
me,  though  he  were  dead  yet  shall  he  live  ;  and 
whosoever  liveth  and  believeth  in  me  shall  never 
die."  John,  11  :  25,  26.  "  For  God  so  loved  the 
world  that  He  gave  His  only  begotten  Son,  that 
whosoever  believeth  on  Him  should  not  perish,  but 
have  everlasting  life."     John,  3  :  16. 

There,  Christian  student,  is  the  Gospel  in 
element,  in  its  simple,  yet  all-comprehending  base. 
We  must  convict  the  solemn  Trinity  of  falsehood 
before  we  can  take  eternal  life  from  him  that  truly 
believes  in  Jesus  Christ.     It  matters  not  by  what 


DEFINITIONS  OF  THE  GHURGE.  27 

name  he  is  called,  or  in  what  connection  he  is 
found,  if  he  have  this  faith  in  his  heart,  whole  and 
uncorrupt,  he  hath  eternal  life  ;  and  no  man  can 
take  from  him  that  ''gift  of  God." 

And  now,  why  does  the  Bible  niake  so  much  of 
this  faith  ?  Is  it  because  this  alone  constitutes  the 
Christian  character  ?  No  :  but  because  this  faith 
cannot  be  alone  in  that  character.  It  is,  under  the 
Spirit,  the  parent  of  all  holy  graces.  This  truth, 
in  former  times,  drew  from  that  ''staunch 
churchman,'^  Bishop  Hall,  the  exclamation  :  "0 
the  grace  of  faith !  justly  represented  to  us  by  St. 
Paul,  above  all  other  graces,  incident  unto  the  soul, 
as  that  which,  if  not  alone,  chiefly  transacts  all  the 
main  affairs  tending  to  salvation.  For  faith  is  the 
quickening  grace,  the  directing  grace,  the  protecting 
grace,  the  establishing  grace,  the  justifying  grace, 
the  sanctifying  and  purifying  grace.  Faith  is  the 
grace  which  assents  to,  apprehends,  applies,  appro- 
priates Christ ;  and,  hereupon,  it  is  the  uniting 
grace  ;  and,  which  comprehends  all,  the  saving 
grace.'' 

In  the  texts  thus  far  cited,  we  see  the  simple, 
essential  requisites  to  salvation  under  the  Gospel  ; 
those  without  which  no  man,  to  whom  the  Gospel 
comes,  can  be  saved  ;  and  with  which  any  man  will 
be  saved. 

2.  We  now  take  another  step.     Every  one,  in 


28  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

•whom  the  required  faith  is  found,  has  a  direct  and 
personal  union  with  Christ  ;  so  that  he  drawls  his 
spiritual  life,  not  by  succession,  nor  by  transmis- 
sion from  any  other  believer,  but  immediately 
from  the  Saviour  Himself.  Nothing,  however  thin, 
intervenes  between  the  two.  By  faith  the  believer 
is  "in  Christ;"  and  by  the  same  faith  Christ 
"dwells"  in  the  believer's  "heart."  Eph.  3  :  17. 
This  mystic  union  between  Christ  and  each  individ- 
ual Christian  is  as  close  and  perfect,  as  though 
Christ  and  each  individual  were  the  only  ones  in 
all  the  world  concerned  in  that  union.  As  a  foun- 
dation, Christ  is  as  long  as  the  age  of  grace,  and  as 
broad  as  the  realm  of  sin  ;  so  that  every  true  be- 
liever touches,  immediately  and  for  himself,  that  on 
which  he  is  builded.  In  this  peculiar  union  there 
is,  not  a  miraculous  impartation  of  the  divine  sub- 
stance, but  a  real  derivation  of  the  divine  life  ;  and 
faith  is  the  grace,  by  which  the  heavenly  derivation 
is  realized.  Faith  brings  the  soul  to  the  spring- 
head of  that  life  in  Christ.  Faith  drinks  of  the 
"  living  water  "  which  He  gives.  "  Whosoever 
drinketh  of  the  water  that  I  shall  give  him  shall 
never  thirst,  but  the  water  that  I  shall  give  him 
shall  be  in  him  a  well  of  water  springing  up  into 
everlasting  life."  John,  4:  14.  "I  am  the  Vine; 
ye  are  the  branches  ;  he  that  abideth  in  me  and  I 
in  him,  the  same  bringeth  forth  much  fruit."    John, 


DEFmiTIONS  OF  THE  GHVRCH.  29 

15  :  5.  "If  any  man  be  in  Christ,  he  is  a  new 
creature."  2  Cor.  5  :  17.  "  That  Christ  may  dwell 
in  your  hearts  by  faith."  Eph.  3  :  17.  "  Ye  are 
not  in  the  flesh,  but  in  the  spirit,  if  so  be*  that  the 
Spirit  of  God  dwell  in  you  :  now  if  any  man  have 
not  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  he  is  none  of  His.''  Eom. 
8:9.  ''  Your  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God."  Col. 
3:3.  He  that,  with  an  appropriating  faith,  "  eat- 
eth  my  flesh  and  drinketh  my  blood,  dwelleth  in 
me  and  I  in  him."  John,  6  :  56.  These  are  some 
of  the  passages  in  which  this  sacred  union  is  indi- 
cated ;  and  they  show  that,  while  Christ  holds  this 
union  with  all  who  truly  believe  in  Him,  He  still 
holds  it  with  each  separately  and  severally.  Each 
single  Christian  holds  this  living  connection  and 
communion  with  the  Saviour  as  immediately  and 
as  closely,  and  draws  life  therefrom  as  abundantly 
and  as  perfectingly,  as  though  himself  and  the  Sa- 
viour were  the  only  beings  concerned  in  the  divine 
afiinity. 

3.  We  have  thus  seen  what  it  is  that  essentially 
characterizes  the  true  Christian,  and  what  is  the 
relation  which  he  sustains  with  Christ.  We  now 
take  one  further  step.  There  are,  then,  in  the 
world,  as  there  have  been  from  the  beginning,  and 
will  be  to  the  end,  a  steadily  growing,  and  at  length 
a  very  great  company  of  human  beings,  sustaining 
the  character  and  the  relations  which  I  have  just 


3c  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

explained  ;  the  character  of  true  believers  in  Christ, 
and  the  relation  of  a  holy,  individual  union  with 
Christ.  These,  as  represented  in  the  Bible,  and  as 
found  in  fact,  are  an  exceedingly  ''peculiar  peo- 
ple." There  are  none  like  them  in  all  the  world. 
In  some  outward  respects,  they  seem  like  common 
men  ;  but  in  the  depths  of  their  being,  they  are 
quite  unlike  all  others.  They  are  stamped,  with 
the  lineaments  and  features  of  quite  another  char- 
acter. If  what  has  been  wrought  within  could  be 
laid  open  to  the  eye  of  sense,  they  would  at  once 
be  known  from  other  men  all  over  the  earth  and 
throughout  all  heaven.  Gathered  from  whatever 
nation  or  kindred,  and  marked  by  whatever  pecu- 
liarities or  inequalities,  they  would  yet  be  found  in 
their  main  characteristics  alike  ;  shaped  by  the 
same  divine  hand,  stamped  with  the  same  spiritual 
features,  passing  through  the  same  general  experi- 
ence, belonging  to  the  same  great  company,  and 
tending  to  the  same  sublime  destiny. 

Now,  this  exceedingly  "peculiar  people"  are 
found,  not  exclusively  within  the  lines  of  any  one 
Christian  community,  but,  in  greater  or  less  num- 
bers, within  the  limits  of  all :  some,  doubtless,  even 
among  the  most  corrupt  of  those  communities  ;  and 
multitudes  among  those  which  rise  nearest  to  prim- 
itive purity.  Here,  then,  comes  into  view  a  very 
remarkable  fact.     A  large  number  of  these  "  pecu- 


DEFINITIONS  OF  TEE  CHURCH.  ,  31 

liar  people  '^  are  found  in  organized  Christian  com- 
munities, whicli  neither  submit  to  one  supreme, 
temporal,  human  head — the  Pope,  nor  receive  into 
their  organizations  an  Episcopal  ministry  and  sac- 
raments. They  are  known  by  various  human 
names  •  but,  in  character  and  relation,  they  belong 
to  that  same  "  peculiar  people  "  who  have  been 
described.  They  have  all  the  lineaments  and  fea- 
tures, all  the  views  and  experience,  of  that  people  ; 
everything  that  can  mark  them  as  belonging  to  the 
same  spiritual  race.  Of  this  there.is  and  can  be 
no  question.  If  the  true,  though  hidden  characters 
and  relations  of  the  whole  holy  company  were  laid 
open,  this  portion  of  them  would  be  seen,  before 
earth  and  heaven,  to  be  identical  with  all  the  rest. 
What,  then,  is  the  relation,  which,  as  individuals, 
and  as  organized  bodies,  these  acknowledged  Chris- 
tians, thus  destitute  of  the  Episcopacy,  bear  to  the 
Church  of  Christ  ? 

This  question  is  important.  I  have  no  undue 
sympathy  with  those  who  refuse,  or  fail,  to  receive 
an  Episcopal  ministry.  Still,  their  existence  in 
such  considerable  numbers,  and  with  such  undeni- 
able evidences  of  identity  with  the  "  peculiar  peo- 
ple," is  a  grave  and  weighty  fact,  of  which  we  must 
in  some  way  dispose.  Again,  therefore,  I  ask  : 
what  relation  do  these  Christians  and  Christian 
communities  bear  to  the  Church  ?    This  question  is 


32,  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

important,  chiefly,  from  the  consideration  that,  if 
they  belong  to  the  Church,  then  a  third  definition 
of  the  Church,  different  from  either  of  the  former, 
becomes  indispensably  necessary.  Do  these  Chris- 
tians, then,  individually  and  in  their  organizations, 
belong  to  the  Church?  The  advocates  of  both 
the  previous  definitions  answer.  No.  I  am  con- 
strained to  answer.  Yes.  My  reason  for  this 
answer  however,  must,  for  the  present,  be  brief. 

Either,  then,  they  belong  to  the  Church,  or,  in 
so  far  as  they  are  Christians,  they  are  saved  with- 
out belonging  to  the  Church.  Now,  whether  God 
ever  saves  men  where  Christ  is  unknown,  or  when 
it  is  impossible  to  confess  Him  before  men,  it  is  not 
here  necessary  to  inquire.  Of  this,  however,  we 
may  be  sure  :  that,  where  the  Gospel  is  preached, 
where  the  Holy  Spirit  is  given  to  apply  that  Gos- 
pel, where  Christ  is  thus  fully  made  known,  and 
where  men  have  an  opportunity  to  confess  Him 
before  their  fellow  men — there  God  saves  no  man 
but  in  His  one,  appointed  way,  on  the  terms  of  His 
one,  unchangeable  covenant  of  grace,  and  as  a  mem- 
ber of  His  one,  true  Church.  Under  the  condi- 
tions  here  assigned,  the  doctrine  is  strictly  true, 
""  Out  of  the  Church  is  no  salvation."  It  is  only  when 
a  false  conception  of  the  Church  is  entertained, 
only  when  some  particular  ecclesiastical  organiza- 
tion arrogates  to  itself  exclusively  the  style  and 


DEFINITIONS  OF  THE  CHURGU.  33 

prerogatives  of  the  Church,  that  the  doctrine  be- 
comes not  only  false,  but  impious.  When  the  word 
Church  is  rightly  understood,  and  is  used  within 
the  conditions  just  named,  the  doctrine  is  both  true 
and  precious  :  "  Out  of  the  Church  is  no  salvation." 
But,  the  Christians  of  whom  we  speak  obtain  sal- 
vation ;  and  they  are  saved  within  the  specified 
conditions  ;  they  are  saved  by  means  of  the  Gos- 
pel, through  the  knowledge  of  Christ,  by  the 
renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  with  a  confession 
of  Christ  and  His  truth  before  men.  They  are 
saved  as  all  other  Christians  are  saved.  They, 
therefore,  belong  to  the  Church. 

If,  by  the  opposite  opinion,  it  be  meant,  that 
though  saved,  yet  they  are  not  members  of  the 
Church  in  the  sense  of  either  of  the  two  definitions 
already  given,  this  is  but  saying  that  they  are 
neither  Romanists  nor  Episcopalians  :  but,  if  it  be 
meant  that  though  saved,  j^i  they  are  not  mem- 
bers of  the  Church  in  any  sense,  then  we  ask  : 
what  essential  necessity  for  a  Church  can  be 
shown?  If,  from  age  to  age,  such  myriads  are 
saved,  where  tlie  full  light  of  Christ  is  shining,  and 
where  the  rich  gifts  of  the  Spirit  are  bestowed, 
while  yet  they  belong  not  to  the  Church,  then  the 
Church,  instead  of  being  exalted,  and  shown  to  be 
divinely  useful,  is  degraded  and  shown  to  be  of  no 
worth.  Men  may  be  saved  outside  as  well  as  with- 
3 


34  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

in  its  enclosure  ;  without  as  well  as  witli  its  name. 
The  Olmrch,  as  to  her  specific  difference,  is  brought 
down  to  the  rank  of  a  mere  keeper  of  manuscripts, 
and  regulator  of  forms.  All  higher  attributes  and 
privileges,  all  more  spiritual  functions  and  influen- 
ces, she  merely  shares  in  common  with  a  body  of 
Christians  who  belong  not  to  her  communion.  The 
moment  we  say  that  these  higher  attributes  and 
privileges,  these  more  spiritual  functions  and  influ- 
ences, whereby  Christian  men  are  saved,  are  not 
partially  and  accidentally,  but  wholly,  and  in  God's 
design,  enjoyed  by  the  Church  (and  this  is  true 
doctrine) — the  moment  we  take  this  position  we 
compel  ourselves  to  admit  that  these  other  Chris- 
tians, who  share  these  attributes  and  privileges, 
these  functions  and  influences,  and  are  saved  there- 
by, belong  to  the  Church.  There  is  no  way  of 
evading  this  conclusion  but  by  admitting  that  the 
Church  merely  shares  the  highest  and  richest 
means  of  salvation  with  individuals  and  communi- 
ties who  are  no  part  of  the  Church. 

But,  if  these  Christians  belong  to  the  Church, 
then,  clearl}^,  so  far  as  its  comprehension  is  con- 
cerned, neither  of  the  definitions  which  have  been 
given  is  right,  and  we  are  compelled  to  seek  for  a 
third.  What,  then,  is  this  third,  this  exhaustively 
complete  definition  of  the  Church  ? 

The  answer  comes  from  what  has  already  been 


DEFINITIONS  OF  THE  CHURCH.  35 

said.  Without  denying,  but  rather  distinctly  hold- 
ing, that  in  one  sense  the  word  Church  may, 
with  strict  propriety,  be  applied  to  a  particular 
ecclesiastical  organization,  and  actually  is  so  ap- 
plied in  the  Bible,  in  history,  and  in  common  usage, 
it  is  nevertheless  plain  that  what  has  thus  far  been 
said  leads  directly  to  this  definition  :  the  Church,  in 
its  largest,  highest  sense,  is  that  great  company  of 
true  believers  in  Christ,  who  hold  His  truth,  in  the 
inain,  whole  and  uucorrupt,  and  who,  by  His  sole 
divine  power  and  agency,  are  saved  from  sin  and 
everlasting  death.  In  this  its  largest,  highest  sense, 
the  Church  is,  precisely,  the  whole  company  of 
that  ""  peculiar  people,"  whose  character  and  rela- 
tion to  Christ  have  already  been  described.  This 
great  company  exists  both  in  heaven  and  upon 
earth.  It  is  gathered  and  to  be  gathered  from  the 
present,  from  the  past,  and  from  all  coming  ages. 
This,  with  Bishop  Taylor,  I  understand  to  be  the 
sense  of  that  article  in  the  Creed,  ''  the  holy  Catho- 
lic Church,  the  communion  of  saints."  The  body, 
thus  named  in  the  Creed,  is  not  merely  in  name, 
but  in  reality,  in  the  truth  of  words,  and  in  the 
sight  of  God,  a  holy  Church,  literally  a  ''  communion 
of  saints."  It  comprises  all,  of  whatever  age  or 
country,  of  whatever  name  or  connection,  who  hold 
the  truth  of  Christ,  in  the  main,  whole  and  uncorrupt, 
and  are  saved  by  Him  from  sin  and  everlasting 


36  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

death.  It  is  a  "communion  of  saints/^  or  of  those  holy 
ones,  who  have  a  common  union  with  Christ  in  His 
truth,  His  life  and  His  salvation.  These  alone  are 
His  spiritual  Body,  and  He  alone  is  their  Head. 
They  only  are  His  true  Temple,  and  this  Temple 
only  is  filled,  always  and  truly,  with  His  divine 
and  sanctifying  presence. 

Nor  is  this  body,  thus  holy,  merely  called  a 
Church  :  as  if,  by  a  figure  of  rhetoric,  it  were  hon- 
ored with  a  name  really  belonging  to  something 
else,  to  which  it  is  related  ;  but  it  is  the  Church  in 
its  largest,  highest  sense.  Christ  first  constituted 
and  has  ever  since  enlarged  this  Church,  by  gath- 
ering and  "adding  to  it  those  who  are  saved;" 
(rovG  Gco^oixEvovay  Acts,  2  :  47.  The  Saviour  and 
the  saved  are  the  fundamental  elements,  as  well 
as  the  finished  development,  of  His  Church. 

Whether  the  Church  in  this  highest  sense  is  the 
original,  and  gives  its  name  to  the  Church,  in  its 
lower  aspect,  as  a  visible  society  ;  or,  whether  the 
latter  first  received  the  name,  it  is  not  necessary 
to  decide  ;  although  high  authorities  are  not  want- 
ing for  the  opinion  that  the  name  belongs  primarily 
to  the  higher  embodiment.  Thus,  Bishop  Taylor, 
distinguishing  "God's  sense "  from  what  he  calls 
"man's  sense"  of  the  term  Church,  says  that  the 
former  is  "  the  true,  proper  and  primary  meaning." 
The   eminent   Jackson   also   declares  that  this  is 


DEFmiTTONS  OF  THE  GHURGH.  37 

the  prime  sense  of  the  term,  '  Catholic  Church.' '' 
It  is  enough,  however,  for  us  to  know  that  the 
grand  company-  of  "  the  saved  "  are— not  by  a  fig- 
ure of  speech,  but— in  verity,  a  Church  ;  in  its 
most  important  sense,  the  Church  of  Christ. 

The  difference  between  this  idea  of  the  Church 
and  both  the  previous  definitions  of  it  which  have 
been  given,  will  be  seen  by  observing  that  the 
Church  is  not,  in  itself,  an  agent  in  saving  men, 
but  the  whole  company  of  men  saved  in  union  with 
Christ  their  Saviour.     The  difference  is  essential. 
The  Church  doubtless,  uses  means  for  saving  men. 
This,  however,  makes  not  the  Church,  in  itself,  an 
agent  in  saving  men,  any  more  than  medicine,  in 
the  hands  of  a  physician,  makes  the  physician  him- 
self a  medicine,  or  constitutes  him  the  power  which 
gives  that  medicine  its  effect  in  healing  the  sick. 
To  make  the  Word  and  sacraments  to  be  ''of  the 
essence  ''  of  the  Church,  prepares  the  way  for  mak- 
ing the  Church  itself,  in  a  sense  co-ordinate  with 
Christ,  an  agent  in  saving  men.     In  its  true  idea, 
the   Church  is  just  the  whole  company  of   ''the 
saved,''  in  union  with  Christ,  the  Saviour.     Christ 
and  the  company  of  those  who  live  in  Him  by 
taith,  and  in  whom  He  lives  through  faith— this  is 
the    real    essence    of  the    Church;   that   without 
which  no  Church  can  exist ;  that,  with  which  the 
Church  cannot  but  exist.     The  importance  of  keep- 
ing this  idea  in  mind  cannot  well  be  overrated. 


38  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

Thus  far,  we  have  merely  been  seeking  a  defini- 
tion of  the  Church  in  its  largest  comprehension. 
Hereafter,  we  hope  to  show  that  this  definition  is 
sustained  by  the  Scriptures  and  by  our  own  stand- 
ards ;  after  which  we  will  attend  to  that  sense  of 
the  term,  which  brings  before  us  the  Church  as  a 
visible  organized  society. 

For  the  present,  I  close  with  a  single  inquiry  : 
Do  we,  each  for  himself,  belong  to  the  Church  of 
''the  saved?"  This  question  touches  not  merely 
outward  relations.  It  is  not  settled  by  mere  mem- 
bership in  a  visible  ecclesiastical  organization.  Do 
we  belong  to  that  ''peculiar  people"  described? 
We  must,  or  we  do  not  belong  to  Christ,  and  can- 
not be  saved  by  Him.  We  must  be  in  Him  by 
faith,  and  by  faith  draw  life  directly  from  Him.  If 
His  in  an  external  sense  only,  all  the  names, 
badges  and  privileges  of  our  Christian  lot  will  be 
but  so  many  aggravations  of  our  guilt  when  we 
come  to  stand  before  God  ;  only  so  many  splendid 
patches  on  the  dark  garment  of  our  shame  ;  like 
the  painted  flames  on  the  vesture  of  victims  at  an 
auto  dafe  ;  enhancing  by  the  very  strangeness  of 
their  contrast,  the  ignominy  and  the  misery  with 
which  we  shall  be  inwardly  consumed. 

God  give  us  all  a  discerning  eye,  and  a  believ- 
ing heart  ;  that,  being  "  in  Christ"  here,  we  may 
hereafter  be  "  found  of  Him  in  peace,  without  spot 
and  blameless." 


CHAPTER   IL 

TESTIMONY   OF   SCEIPTURE.      METAPHORS. 

T^HE  Church  Universal,  as  described  in  the  lan- 
-*-  guage  of  the  Creed,  is  "  the  holy  Catholic 
Church,  the  communion  of  saints."  It  is  the  great 
company  of  those,  who  have  a  common  union  with 
Christ  by  faith,  who  hold  to  Him  as  their  sole 
Head,  and  to  His  Truth,  in  the  main,  whole  and 
uncorrupt ;  and  who,  by  His  sole  power  and 
agency,  are  saved  from  sin,  and  made  partakers 
of  eternal  life.  This  idea  of  the  Church,  so  far  as 
it  was  brought  out  in  the  first  chapter,  was  drawn 
from  the  language  of  the  Bible,  descriptive  of  the 
true  Christian  and  of  his  individual  relation  to 
Christ. 

But,  it  will  be  asked,  is  there  any  thing  in  the 
Bible,  which  authorizes  us  to  call  this  great  com- 
pany of  ''  the  saved  "  by  the  name  of  the  Church  ? 
Are  there  any  Scriptures,  intentionally  describing 
the  Church  itself,  which  contain  the  basis  of  the 
idea  just  presented  ? 

(39) 


40  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

This  question  will  lead  me  to  an  examination  of 
two  sets  of  passages,  the  true  sense  of  which,  as  I 
apprehend,  will  show  that  the  definition  of  the 
Church  which  I  have  given,  is  sustained  by  the 
teaching  of  the  inspired  Word.  Of  these  passages, 
the  one  set  presents  the  Church  under  certain 
metaphors  ;  the  other,  under  its  own  proper  name. 


First,  then,  passages  which  present  the  Church 
under  certain  metaphors. 

1.  In  the  tenth  chapter  of  the  Gospel  according 
to  John,  Christ  describes  the  Church  under  the 
metaphor  of  a  "  fold."  In  this  figure,  the  relation 
between  Himself  and  His  people,  is  that  of  the 
shepherd  and  his  "  flock."  The  following  is  some 
of  the  language,  which  He  employs  in  carrying  out 
the  figure.  "He  that  entereth  not  by  the  door 
into  the  sheepfold,  the  same  is  a  thief  and  robber." 
"I  am  the  door  :  by  me  if  any  man  enter  in  he 
shall  be  saved,  and  shall  go  in  and  out,  and  find 
pasture.  The  thief  cometh  not,  but  for  to  steal  and 
to  kill,  and  to  destroy  ;  I  am  come  that  they  might 
have  life,  and  that  they  might  have  it  more  abund- 
antly. I  am  the  good  Shepherd  ;  the  good  Shep- 
herd giveth  his  life  for  the  sheep."  "  And  other 
sheep  I  have,  which  are  not  of  this  fold  ;  them  also 


TESTIMONY  OF  SCRIPTURE. 


41 


I  must  bring  ;  and  they  shall  hear  my  voice,  and 
there  shall  be  one  flock  and  one  shepherd."*  "  My 
sheep  hear  my  voice,  and  I  know  them^  and  they 
follow  me  ;  and  I  give  unto  them  eternal  life  and 
they  shall  never  perish,  neither  shall  any  pluck 
them  out  of  my  hand.  My  Father,  which  gave  them 
me,  is  greater  than  all,  and  no  man  is  able  to  pluck 
tliem  out  of  my  Father's  hand.  I  and  my  Father 
are  one."     John,  x.  passim. 

Now,  here,  under  this  metaphor  of  a  fold,  we 
have  a  description  of  the  church  ;  for,  that  this 
FOLD  and  the  church  are  identical  is  not  and  can- 
not be  doubted.  Analogous  metaphors,  as  we  shall 
see,  decide  this  point.  Christ^s  fold  is  the  church. 
Of  whom,  then,  does  this  fold,  or  church,  consist  ? 
Of  none  but  the  Shepherd  and  His  flock  ;  ^oliivri  ^  of 
those  and  those  only,  who  "  enter  in  "  by  Christ 
and  are  "  saved  ;  "  who  ''  hear  His  voice  and  fol- 
low Him  ;"  to  whom  He  "  gives  eternal  life  "  and 
who  "shall  never  perish."  The  Fold,  if  explained 
separately,  as  that  which  encloses  both  the  Shep- 
herd and  His  Flock,  may  be  regarded  as  the  secu- 
rities of  that  fixed  and  unchangeable  covenant  of 

*  There  is  an  ambiguity  in  our  translation  of  this  passage.  As  we  have 
it,  it  is — "  other  sheep  I  have,  which  are  not  of  this  fold  {avlF/a),  them  also 
I  must  bring,  etc.,"  "  and  there  shall  be  one  fold  {iroinvri),  and  one  shepherd." 
Our  translators  have  wrongly  rendered  two  distinct  words  by  one  and  the 
same.  avTiT]  is  the  fold,  which  encloses:  TroifiVTj  is  the  flock  which  is  en- 
closed    I  have  removed  the  ambiguity  in  my  use  of  the  passage. 


42  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

grace  within  which  the  whole  sacred  company,  in 
their  spiritual  union  with  Christ,  are  safely  held  : 
but  the  whole  figure,  interpreted  together,  the  Fold 
and  those  whom  it  contains,  represents,  simply,  the 
Church  of  Christ ;  both  that  part  which  had  been 
saved  before  His  advent,  and  that  which  was  after- 
wards to  be  saved.  "  Other  sheep,"  says  Christ,  '*I 
have,  which  are  not  of  this  fold  ;  them  also  I  must 
bring,  and  they  shall  hear  my  voice  ;  and  there 
shall  be  one  flock  and  one  shepherd.'*  That  is  : 
"  My  sheep  among  the  Gentiles,  as  well  as  among 
the  Jews,  are  not  yet  actually  gathered  in  ;  but  they 
are  mine,  and  gathered  in  they  shall  be.  The  Flock 
is  one,  and  the  Shepherd  one  ;  and  when  the  gath- 
ering is  ended,  eternity  shall  receive  the  whole 
to  the  fullness  of  my  salvation." 

In  this  passage,  the  metaphoric  fold  clearly 
means  the  whole  unfolded  flock,  who  are  to  be 
saved  from  first  to  last,  under  the  security  of  the 
eternal  covenant  of  grace,  in  union  with  Christ, 
their  only  and  divine  Head.  There  is  no  reason, 
either  in  the  occasion  of  Christ's  speaking,  or  in 
the  language  which  He  uses,  to  show  that  He  is 
describing  a  mixed  and  semi-worldly  company  of 
professed  believers.  On  the  contrary,  though 
there  was  such  a  company,  and  though  He  some- 
times confessedly  describes  it,  yet  both  the  occa- 
sion  and   the   language   here  show  that. He  was 


TESTIMONY  OF  SCRIPTURE.  ^3 

intentionally  describing  a  different  companj^,  simply 
the  whole  company  of  "  the  saved."  He  was  look- 
ing far  above  and  beyond  the  imperfect  and  the 
temporal  condition  of  His  kingdom.  Indeed,  He 
expressly  distinguishes  between  this  and  the  fold 
of  which  He  was  speaking.  So  far  as  there  was 
then  a  visible  and  mixed  Church  on  earth,  the 
Jews  with  whom  He  was  discoursing  belonged  to 
it :  and  yet,  He  told  them,  unequivocally,  that  they 
did  not  belong  to  His  Fold,  the  Church  which  He 
then  had  in  His  eye.  "But,  ye  believe  not,"  said 
He,  "because  ye  are  not  of  my  sheep,  as  I  said 
unto  you."  This  plainly  settles  the  question. 
Christ  was  intentionally  discriminating  between 
the  mixed,  visible  Church  in  the  world,  and  that 
Church,  which  is  His  fold  ;  His  Church,  in  its 
highest,  largest  sense. 

2.  In  the  third  chapter  of  his  Epistle  to  the 
Ephesians,  St.  Paul  presents  the  Church  under  the 
metaphor  of  a  Family.  "  For  this  cause  I  bow  my 
knees  unto  the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
of  whom  the  whole  Family  in  Heaven  and  earth 
is  named,  that  He  would  grant  you,  according  to 
the  riches  of  His  glory,  to  be  strengthened  with 
might  by  His  Spirit  in  the  inner  man  ;  that  Christ 
may  dwell  in  your  hearts  by  faith  ;  that  ye,  being 
rooted  and  grounded  in  love,  may  be  able  to  com- 
prehend,^ with  all  saints,  what  is  the  breadth,  and 


4^  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

length,  and  depth,  and  height ;  and  to  know  the 
love  of  Christ,  which  passeth  knowledge  ;  tliat  ye 
might  be  filled  with  all  the  fullness  of  God.  Now, 
unto  Him  that  is  able  to  do  exceeding  abundantly, 
above  all  that  we  ask  or  think,  according  to  the 
power  that  worketh  in  us,  unto  Him  be  glory  in 
the  Church  by  Christ  Jesus,  throughout  all  ages, 
world  without  end^'     Eph.  3  :  14-21. 

It  needs  little  or  no  comment  to  show  that  ihe^ 
Family  here  mentioned  is  the  Church,  in  its  largest, 
highest  sense.  It  is  the  Church,  because,  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  passage,  it  is  expressly  called 
so ;  for  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that,  by  Fam- 
ily, in  the  former  part  of  the  passage,  the  Apostle 
means  one  company,  and  by  Church,  in  the  latter 
part,  another  and  a  different.  Evidently,  the  two 
are  one  and  the  same  company.  This  Family,  then, 
is  the  Church.  And  it  is,  as  evidently,  the  Church 
in  its  largest,  highest  sense  ;  ''  the  Holy  Catholic 
Church,  the  Communion  of  Saints  ;"  the  one  spir- 
itual Household  of  faith  ;  the  whole  company  of 
"  the  saved,"  whose  only  Head  is  Christ.  This 
appears,  not  only  from  the  Apostle's  pra3^er,  "that 
Christ  may  dwell  in  the  hearts  "  of  its  members 
''  by  faith  ;"  that,  "being  rooted  and  grounded  in 
love,  they  may  be  able  to  comprehend,  with  all 
saints,  what  is  the  breadth,  and  length,  and  depth, 
and  height ;  and  to  know  the  love  of  Christ  which 


TESTIMONY  OF  SCRIPTURE. 


45 


passeth  knowledge;"  and  "  lliat  tliey  might  be 
filled  with  all  the  fullness  of  God  " — for  this  prayer 
might  be  offered  in  behalf  of  any  company — but, 
from  the  language  which  he  uses  in  describing  the 
sacred  Household.  It  is  not  only  a  Family,  but 
"the  whole  family"  named  of  Christ,  "in 
Heaven  and  Earth."  The  very  terms  show  that 
he  was  not  speaking  of  the  limited,  mixed,  semi- 
worldly  Church  of  this  life.  He  was  describing 
the  whole  Family  of  Christ,  part  in  Heaven  and 
part  on  earth  ;  and  the  part  on  earth  homogeneous 
with  the  part  in  Heaven,  and  finally  to  become 
one  with  the  sacred  whole.  Such  being  his  descrip- 
tion of  this  Family,  the  prayer  vfhich  he  offered 
for  its  members  becomes  most  impressively  appro- 
priate. It  shows  that  his  mind  was  lifted  far  above 
and  beyond  the  temporal,  the  imperfect,  and  the 
mixed,  and  was  realizing  that  incomparably 
grander,  purer,  and  better  thing — the  whole  com- 
pany "of  the  saved,"  from  the  beginning  to  the 
end  of  time,  who  are  to  live  together  in  glory  for- 
ever. And  the  Idea  which  thus  swelled  his  mind 
in  describing  the  Family,  continued  to  fill  his 
thoughts  when  he  came  to  call  it  the  Church. 
Hence,  he  terms  it  "  the  Church  in  Christ  Jesus  " 
h-xi  EKKATjola  ev  xpLGTO)  I'qoov^  in  which  God  is  to  be 
glorified  "  throughout  all  ages,  world  without  end," 
all  ages,  past,  present,  and  to  come.     The  Family 


46  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

and  the  Church,  here,  are  connatural  and  com- 
mensurate ;  and  neither  of  them  can  be  identified 
with,  and  limited  by,  the  imperfect  and  mixed 
company  called  the  Church,  in  this  world. 

3.  In  the  twenty-first  chapter  of  the  Book  of 
Revelation,  John  presents  the  Church  under  the 
metaphor  of  a  Beide.  "  Come  hither,''  says  the 
Angel  of  the  Vision,  "and  I  will  show  thee  the 
Bkide,  the  Lamb's  wife.''    Rev.  21 :  9. 

This  Bride,  the  Lamb's  wife,  is  confessedly  the 
Church  of  Christ.  Of  whom,  then,  do  its  mem- 
bers consist  ?  This  question  is  answered  near  the 
close  of  the  chapter,  where,  while  the  sense  is  the 
same,  the  metaphor  has  been  changed  for  that  of  a 
"City."  "The  nations  of  them  that  are  saved 
shall  walk  in  the  light  of  it."  "And  there  shall 
in  no  wise  enter  into  it  anything  that  defileth, 
neither  that  worketh  abomination  or  a  lie  ;  but 
they  which  are  written  in  the  Lamb's  Book  of 
Life.'' 

This  vision  is,  by  many,  though  not  by  all,  sup- 
posed to  represent  the  finished  state  of  the  Church 
in  Heaven  ;  inasmuch  as  "  the  Bride,"  or  "  Great 
City,  the  Holy  Jerusalem,"  was  shown,  "descend- 
ing out  of  heaven  from  God,  having  the  glory  of 
God."  Suppose,  then,  for  the  sake  of  the  suppo- 
sition, that  the  object  of  the  vision  was  to  exhibit 
the  Church  in  its  heavenly  state  ;    this  would  not 


TESTIMONY  OF  SCRIPTURE. 


47 


destroy  the  force  of  the  metaphor  in  its  application 
to  our  subject  ;  for  the  Church  becomes  "  the  Bride, 
the  Lamb's  wife,"  on  earth  ;  and  it  is  only  because 
she  is  espoused  to  Him  on  earth  that  the  marriage 
will  finally  be  solemnized  in  Heaven.  Hence  the 
Apostle  says  of  the  marriage  union  between  hus- 
band and  wife,  "This  is  a  great  mystery,  but  I 
speak  concerning  Christ  and  the  Church."  Eph.  5  : 
32.  That  is  :  the  ordinance  of  human  marriage  is  a 
mystic  symbol  of  the  divine  union  existing  between 
Christ  and  the  Church.  This  union  has  existed 
from  the  beginning,  and  the  Church  has  been  and 
will  be  "  the  Bride,  the  Lamb's  wife,"  through  all 
time  as  well  as  through  all  eternity. 

That  this  relation  exists  on  earth  is  evident 
from  the  close  of  the  chapter  quoted.  Rev.  21  :  27, 
where  it  is  said,  "none  shall  enter  into  it,"  none 
shall  be  recognized  as  members  of  this  Beide,  "  but 
they' which  are  written  in  the  Lamb's  Book  of 
Life."  When  are  they  written  in  that  Book  ?  On 
Earth  and  in  Time,  or  nowhere  and  never?  The 
Seventy  rejoiced  that  "the  devils  were  subject 
unto  them."  Christ  bade  them,  "  rather  rejoice 
because  your  names  are  written  in  Heaven" — "are 
written,"  not  "shall  be  wrtten."  Had  they  not  been 
so  written  on  earth,  their  names  would  never  have 
been  found  on  the  Register  of  Life  in  Heaven. 
And  this  is  as  true  of  every  Christian  as  it  was  of 


48  TEE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

the  Seventy.  Even  then,  on  the  supposition  that 
the  metaphoric  Bride  means  the  Church  in  its 
finally  perfected  state,  yet  none  belong  to  it  but 
those  who,  while  on  earth,  have  their  names  writ- 
ten in  Heaven.  The  relation  between  the  Divine 
Bridegroom  and  His  holy  Bride  is  formed  in  this 
world,  and  is  only  to  be  publicly  solemnized  in  the 
world  to  come.  Still  more  definitive  of  the  ques- 
tion is  the  metaphor  on  its  true  construction,  that 
''the  Bride,  the  Lamb's  Wife,"  is  a  figure  of  the 
Church  on  earth,  as  well  as  in  Heaven.  In  this 
light,  the  metaphor  solves  all  doubt.  The  Bride, 
the  Church  of  Christ,  in  its  largest,  highest  sense, 
is  composed  exclusively  of  "  the  sa-ved,"  of  those 
who,  on  earth,  have  their  names  ''written  in  the 
Lamb's  Book  of  Life  ;"  His  Book  of  Life.  No 
spiritually  dead  soul  is  ever  betrothed  to  the  Di- 
vinely living  Saviour. 

To  this  view  it  may,  indeed,  be  objected  that,  in 
the  Old  Testament,  God  is  said  to  have  married 
the  whole  country  and  people  of  Israel — Isa.  62  : 
4,  5  ;  that  among  them  were  multitudes  of  the 
most  ungodly,  and  that  therefore,  under  the  New 
Testament,  the  term  Bride  may  be  considered  as 
designating  the  Church  in  its  visible,  mixed,  and 
imperfect  state.  To  this,  however,  I  reply  :  it  is 
by  no  means  certain  that  the  language  referred  to 
designates   the   relation    between   God    and    the 


TESTIMONY  OF  SCRIPTURE.  49 

strangely  mixed  visible  Israel.  But,  even  if  we 
were  to  allow  this,  it  would  make  nothing  against 
the  interpretation  now  given  of  the  metaphoric 
Bride  in  the  Revelation.  The  relation  between 
God  and  the  mixed  visible  Israel  of  old  was  not  a 
type  of  the  mixed  visible  Christian  Israel.  The 
Church  of  the  Old  Testament  was  not  a  type  of 
the  Church  of  the  New.  They  were  one  and  the 
same  Church,  under  different  Dispensations  ;  and 
both,  as  visible  and  mixed,  were  but  signs  and 
means  of  God's  relation  to  the  true  spiritual  Israel, 
the  true  spiritual  Church  of  Christ  ;  so  that  the 
real  Bride,  the  real  Church,  for  which  we  seek, 
remains  the  same,  the  whole  company  of  "  the 
saved,''  in  union  with  the  living  Saviour.  The 
Type  of  a  thing  may  be  imperfect,  while  the  Anti- 
type, the  thing  typified,  is  perfect.  The  typic 
Bride  of  the  old  Testament  turned  adulteress,  and 
was  put  away.  The  typic  Bride  of  the  New  has 
too  often  followed  her  example  and  shared  her 
disgrace.  The  True  Bride  is  never  unfaithful. 
She  is  betrothed  for  eternity. 

4.  In  the  fourth  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
Ephesians,  the  Church  is  presented  under  the  met- 
aphor of  a  BODY.  Upon  this  body  various  gifts 
were  bestowed  "  for  the  perfecting  of  the  saints, 
for  the  work  of  the  ministry,  for  the  edifying  of  the 
BODY  of  Christ ;  till  we  all  come,  in  tlie  unity  of 
4 


50  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

the  faith  and  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Son  of  God,  un- 
to a  perfect  man,  unto  the  measure  of  the  stature  of 
the  fullness  of  Christ ;" — that — ''  speaking  the  truth 
in  love,  we  may  grow  up  into  Him  in  all  things, 
which  is  the  head,  Christ  ;  from  whom  the  whole 
BODY,  fitly  joined  together,  and  compacted  by  that 
which  every  joint  supplieth  according  to  the  effect- 
ual working,  in  the  measure  of  every  part  maketh 
increase  of  the  body  unto  the  edifying  of  itself  in 
love."     Eph.  4  :  12-16. 

This  is  exceedingly  strong  language.  It  speaks 
of  saints  who  are  to  grow  up  into  the  edified  '*  body 
of  Christ,"  unto  a  divine  "unity,"  unto  "a  perfect 
man,  unto  the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fullness 
of  Christ."  They  are  to  grow  up  into  Him  "in  all 
things,"  as  their  ^'head."  From  Him,  "the  whole 
body,"  every  part  and  member,  is  to  be  "fitly 
joined  and  compacted  together."  In  this  divinely 
vital  fitting,  joining  and  compacting,  "  every  joint 
supplieth "  its  due  proportion.  In  this  supply, 
there  is  an  "  effectual  working,"  a  divine  energy. 
And,  through  this  effectual  working,  there  is  to  be 
made  "  a  proportional  increase  of  the  body  in 
every  single  part."  This  last  expression  gives  the 
true  force  of  the  language  in  the  original. 

Now,  the  BODY,  described  in  this  passage,  is  con- 
fessedly the  Church.  And  it  is  certainly  a  Church, 
every  joint,  limb,  ligament  and  function  of  which. 


TESTIMON'T  OF  SCRIPTURE.  51 

without  any  indicated  exception,  is  to  grow  iato, 
and  from  Clirist  by  an  inward,  divine  energy,  and 
is  to  be  a  spiritually  vitalized  part  of  that  fitly 
joined  and  compacted  body,  which  carries  the  life  of 
Christ  in  every  portion,  from  the  crown  of  the  head 
to  the  soles  of  the  feet.  It  is  that  Church,  which, 
when  the  sacred  body  is  at  length  completed  by 
the  addition  of  its  last  member,  is  to  become  *'a 
perfect  man,''  in  its  analogy  with  a  perfect  human 
body  and  soul  ;  ''  a  perfect  man  ;"  its  head,  Christ ; 
and  its  body,  all  His  glorified  members  ;  in  short, 
"the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fullness  of 
Christ." 

Is  it  possible,  then,  to  understand,  by  the  Body, 
thus  described  and  characterized,  the  merely  local, 
visible  Church,  organized  at  Ephesus,  to  which  this 
Epistle  was  confessedly  addressed,  and  which,  as  a 
locaL organization,  doubtless  shared  in  the  spiritual 
gifts  shed  on  the  Church  in  its  largest,  highest 
sense  ?  Is  it  not  manifest,  from  the  language  used, 
from  the  description  elaborated,  that  St.  Paul  had 
risen  far  above,  and  passed  far  beyond,  the  local 
and  probably  mixed  organization  at  Ephesus,  and 
was  setting  before  them  that  unspeakably  diviner 
thing,  the  one,  universal,  glorious  Body  of  Christ, 
of  which  Ephesus,  if  not  faithless,  hypocritical,  or 
self-deceived,  might  become,  with  all  saints,  glori- 
fied members  ?     For  one,  I  feel  it  would  be  doing 


^2  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

violence  to  all  spiritual  understanding  to  take  such 
language  from  the  lips  of  an  inspired  Apostle,  and 
consider  it  as  intentionally  describing  the  locally 
organized  and  mixed  body,  called  the  visible 
Church  in  this  world.  This  body  is  not,  and  never 
will  become,  the  "  perfect  man  ;  the  measure  of 
the  stature  of  the  fullness  of  Christ."  The  idea 
which  filled  the  Apostle's  mind,  seems  manifestly 
to  have  been — not  that  of  the  mixed  visible  Church 
on  earth,  but — that  of  the  literally  one,  universal 
Body  of  Christ,  part  growingly  sanctified  on  earth, 
part  already  glorified  in  Heaven,  and  all  to  be 
finally  "  presented  ''  by  Himself  and  "  to  Himself, 
a  glorious  Church,  not  having  spot,  or  wrinkle,  or 
any  such  thing,  but — ^holy  and  without  blemish.'' 

5.  Once  more  :  in  Ephesians,  2  :  21,  the  Church 
is  presented  under  the  metaphor  of  a  temple. 
Speaking  of  '*  the  household  of  God,"  gathered 
from  all  nations,  the  Apostle  says  :  "All  the  build- 
ing, fitly  framed  together,  groweth  unto  an  holy 
TEMPLE  in  the  Lord." 

This  temple,  it  is  confessed,  means  the  Church. 
In  the  chapter  where  the  term  is  used,  the  Apos- 
tle tells  us  that  in  Christ  ''is  made,  of  twain,  one 
new  man."  Now,  what  were  "the  twain"  thus 
made  "one"  in  Christ?  Not  the  whole  Jewish 
nation  and  the  whole  Gentile  world  ;  but  "  the 
saints  "  from  among  the  Jews,  and  the  saints  from 


TESTIMONY  OF  SCRIPTURE.  53 

among  the  Gentiles,  who  had  been  and  were  to 
be,  gathered  into  Christ.  To  both  of  these  parts  of 
the  human  family  the  blessings  of  the  Gospel  were 
at  length  equally  opened.  The  coming  and  work  of 
Christ  had  ''  broken  down  the  middle  wall  of  par- 
tition," and  opened  the  door  to  all  believers  alike, 
of  all  nations.  Those,  thus  gathered,  constitute 
the  ''  one  new  man  "  in  Christ,  whose  members  are 
collected  from  "  the  twain,"  the  two  ancient  divi- 
sions of  the  human  family  ;  and  thus  collected,  they 
constitute  the  Church,  or  no  Church  in  Christ  has 
ever  been  gathered.  The  soundness  of  this  inter- 
pretation is  evinced  by  what  immediately  precedes 
this  chapter.  Speaking  of  the  same  company  of 
"saints,"  which  he  here  calls  a  ''Temple,"  the 
Apostle  says  that  Christ  is  "head  over  all  things 
to  the  Church,  which  is  His  body,  the  fullness  of 
Him  that  filleth  all  in  all."  On  this  passage  I  shall 
hereafter  remark  more  at  length.  I  cite  it  now 
merely  to  show  that  by  the  word  temple,  the 
Apostle  means  the  Church. 

It  behoves  us,  then,  to  look  well  to  the  question, 
of  what  materials  is  this  temple  composed  ?  Look- 
ing at  the  chapter  in  which  the  building  is  des- 
cribed, we  find  it  built  of  ''  saints,"  only  ;  of  those 
who  by  faith  are  united  to  Christ  and  saved.  They 
are  particularly  addressed  as  having  been  "  quick- 
ened from  a  death  in  trespasses  and  sins  ;"  "  raised 


54  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE, 

up  and  made  to  sit  together  in  heavenly  places  in 
Christ  Jesus;  "saved  by  grace  through  faith;" 
''  made  nigh  by  the  blood  of  Christ  ; ''  and  blessed 
with  "  access  by  one  Spirit  unto  the  Father."  Both 
the  Jewish  and  the  Gentile  saints,  who  constitute 
this  "one  new  man  "  in  Christ,  are  represented  as 
reconciled  to  God  in  one  body  by  the  Cross  ; " — 
terms  which  cannot  be  applied  to  mere  saints  by 
courtesy.  It  is  doing  gross  violence  to  language  to 
say  that  unconverted  Jews  and  unconverted  Gen- 
tiles are  "  reconciled  unto  God  by  the  Cross,"  and 
thus  made  "one  body  in  Christ."  Such  terms  can 
comprehend  none  but  true  believers,  made  one  in 
the  true  Saviour.  Hence  in  this  passage,  the  con- 
verted Ephesians  are  called  "  no  more  strangers 
and  foreigners,  but  fellow  citizens  with  the  saints," 
saints  with  saints,  "  and  of  the  household  of  God ;  " 
"  built  on  the  foundation  of  the  Apostles  and 
Prophets,  Jesus  Christ  himself  being  the  chief  cor- 
ner stone."  In  Him,  "  all  the  building,"  all,  every 
stone  and  timber  from  foundation  to  pinnacle,  all 
is  "fitly  framed  together  ;  "  and,  thus  framed,  all 
"groweth,"  all,  every  part  and  particle,  "  unto  an 
holy  TEMPLE  in  the  Lord  ;"  a  temple,  all  "holy," 
and  all  "in  the  Lord  ;"  all  "bnilded  together  for 
an  habitation  of  God  through  the  Spirit ; "  and, 
through  that  Spirit,  filled  by  its  occupant  in  every 
part 


TESTIMONY  OF  SCRIPTURE.  55 

Sucli  is  the  simple  import  of  tlie  passage  on 
which  we  are  now  engaged.  It  describes  a  Church, 
every  part  of  which  is  united  to  Christ  by  faith, 
in  a  vital  and  holy  union  ;  and,  thus  united,  is 
saved  by  Him  from  sin  and  everlasting  death.  In 
building  this  Temple,  no  account  is  taken  of  any 
other  materials  ;  no  other  materials  are  found  in 
any  part  of  the  sacred  edifice.  It  is  built  for 
God,  and  "through  the  Spirit"  God  dwells  in  it, 
vitalizing,  sanctifying,  and  finally  glorifying  every 
part.  It  is  that  Church  which  Christ  "  filleth  all 
in  all." 

This  view  is  sustained  by  reference  to  the  true 
idea  of  a  Temple.  In  the  sense  of  the  Bible, 
what  constitutes  a  Temple  ?  Not  a  mere  pile  of 
hewn  stone  and  cedar,  overlaid  with  gold  and 
silver.  We  may  call  such  a  structure  a  Temple, 
and  by  this  customary  mode  of  speech  we  are  too 
easily  led  to  suppose  that,  in  itself,  it  is  a  Temple. 
This,  however,  is  a  low  view.  Why  was  that  won- 
derful edifice  at  Jerusalem  a  true  Temple  ?  Not 
because  of  its  materiality,  or  visibility  ;  not  be- 
cause of  its  costliness  or  splendor  ;  not  because  of 
its  curious  structure  or  mj^stic  design  ;  but  because 
of  God's  indwelling.  This  indwelling  makes  any 
place,  any  thing,  a  Temple.  This  made  a  Temple 
of  Jacob's  solitary  night-tent,  the  stone  pillow  of 
Luz,    with     the    one-arched    sky-canvas     above. 


^G  rilE   LIVING  TEMPLE. 

*'  Surely,"  said  tlie  patriarch,  when  he  awoke  to 
realities,  "  surely  Jehovah  is  in  this  place,  and  I 
knew  it  not."  "  How  dreadful  is  this  place  !  This 
is  none  other  but  the  House  of  God,  and  this  is  the 
gate  of  heaven."  He  had  been  in  an  august  Tem- 
ple because  he  had  been  specially  with  God.  This, 
too,  shows  why  the  true  believer's  body  is  a  Tem- 
ple. "  Know  ye  not  that  your  Body  is  the  Temple 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  is  in  you  ?"  And  this, 
emphatically,  made  a  Temple  of  the  perfect  Body 
of  Christ.  When  His  hearers  understood  Him  to 
speak  of  destroying  the  Temple  at  Jerusalem,  and 
building  it  in  three  days,  we  are  told  "  He  spake 
of  the  Temple  of  His  Body."  It  was  a  most  per- 
fect Temple  ;  for  "  in  Him  was  God  manifest  in 
the  flesh."  "  In  Him  dwelleth  all  the  fullness  of 
the  Godhead  bodily." 

This  opens  for  us  the  meaning  of  the  w^ord  Tem- 
ple, in  Eph.  2  :  21.  The  company  there  de- 
scribed are  a  Temple,  because  in  each  and  every 
one  "  Christ  dwelleth  by  faith."  His  dwelling  in 
each  separately,  and  thus  in  all  collectively,  makes 
them  collectively,  what  each  is  individually,  a  won- 
drous Temple  ;  ''  the  Temple  of  the  living  God  ;" 
God  ''  dwelling  in  them  and  walking  in  them  ;" 
He,  "their  God,"  and  they  "  His  people;"  He, 
their  "Father,"  and  they  His  "Sons  and  daugh- 
ters ;"   all  builded  together  and  constituting  the 


TESTIMONY  OF  SCRIPTURE.  rj 

one  glorious  Temple  of  the  saints.  2  Cor.  6  : 
16,  18. 

This  Temple,  in  every  part  inhabited,  this 
Church,  in  every  member  vitalized,  by  God,  is 
identical  with  that  ''  Spiritual  House,"  which  St. 
Peter  describes  as  built  of  ''  living  stones  "  on  the 
Foundation  of  Christ,  the  ''  living  Stone."  This 
edifice  he  immediately  calls  "  a  peculiar  people," 
designed  to  ^'  show  forth  the  praises  of  Him  who 
hath  called  them  out  of  darkness  into  His  marvel- 
ous light  ;  which,  in  time  past,  were  not  a  people, 
but  are  now  the  people  of  God  ;  which  had  not 
obtained  mercy  but  now  have  obtained  mercy." 
1  Pet.  2  :  5,  9,  10.  It  is  eminently  ''a  Spiritual 
House,"  all  alive  from  the  Foundation  to  the  top 
stone,  with  the  life  of  Christ  in  every  one  of  His 
members. 

I  have  thus  shown  that  the  idea  of  the  Church, 
presented  in  the  first  chapter,  is  evidently  found 
in  various  places,  where  the  Church  is  described 
under  the  several  metaphors  of  a  Fold,  a  Family, 
a  Bride,  a  Body,  and  a  Temple.  To  m}^  interpre- 
tation of  these  metaphors  I  am  aware,  indeed,  that 
some  apparently  fair  objections  may  be  raised. 

1.  It  may  be  said  that  the  epistle  from  which 
most  of  the  passages  are  cited,  and  other  epistles 
as  well,  were  addressed  to  local  churches,  evi- 
dently visible,  mixed,  imperfect  bodies  -,  and  that, 


58  TEE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

therefore,  these  metaphors  must  be  interpreted  in 
accordance  with  this  idea  of  the  churches  ad- 
dressed. 

But  to  this  I  reply  :  the  fact  that  the  Epistles 
were  addressed  to  local  mixed  churches  necessi- 
tates no  such  conclusion.  The  fact  that  the  Apos- 
tle was  writing  to  a  probably  mixed  company  at 
Ephesus,  for  instance,  no  more  restrained  him, 
when  he  had  reached  the  heart  of  his  subject,  from 
rising  above  the  idea  of  a  local  and  mixed  body 
into  a  conception  and  description  of  the  Church  as 
one,  universal  and  holy,  than  it  restrained  him 
from  rising  into  the  sublimity  of  any  other  Chris- 
tian verity  with  which  he  wished  to  fill  their 
thoughts  and  fire  their  hearts.  In  truth,  when  we 
come  to  look  at  the  metaphors  which  have  been 
explained,  a  careful  study  of  the  context  uniformly 
shows  that  the  inspired  writers  were  conceiving 
and  describing,  not  the  local  and  the  mixed,  but 
the  Universal  and  the  Holy  Church  ;  the  Church 
of  Christ  in  its  largest,  highest  comprehension. 

2.  Again,  it  may  be  said,  that  the  context  of 
some  of  these  metaphors  exhorts  the  members  of 
the  Church  thus  addressed,  to  fidelity  and  holi- 
ness, and  warns  them  against  unfaithfulness  and  sin  ; 
and  that  we  may  hence  infer  that  the  Church 
described  was  a  mixed  body,  composed  of  true 
believers  and  of  such  as  merely  professed  the  true 


TESTUIONY  OF  SCRIPTURE.  59 

faith,  while  they  were  really  either  self-deceived 
or  hypocrites. 

To  this,  however,  I  reply  :  that  the  exhorta- 
tions to  fidelity  and  holiness,  and  the  warnings 
against  unfaithfulness  and  sin,  whenever  addressed 
to  the  Church,  as  described  in  these  metaphors,  do 
not  prove  that  the  Church,  thus  exhorted  and 
warned,  is  composed,  in  part,  of  impenitent  men, 
of  men  without  faith  and  with  none  of  the  ele- 
ments of  holiness.  It  proves  no  more  than  this  : 
that,  in  the  Church  so  gloriously  described,  Chris- 
tians are  not  perfect  in  holiness  at  the  first  mo- 
ment of  their  union  with  Christ  by  faith  ;  that 
they  are,  too  often,  needlessly  imperfect  ;  and 
that  they  are,  therefore,  proper  subjects  for  the 
discipline  of  such  grave  instructions  as  have  been 
given.  The  "Spiritual  House"  into  which  they 
are  builded,  is,  in  every  part,  a  live  Temple  ; 
Spiritual  life  goes  out  of  the  live  Rock  into  every 
single  stone  built  thereon  j  so  that  what  is  lacking 
in  each  is,  not  the  living  principle,  but  some  of  its 
fuller  and  higher  actings  ;  not  the  true  nature  of 
the  holy  materials,  but  some  of  their  more  finished 
and  heavenly  adornings. 

The  point  before  us,  then,  may  be  considered  as 
sufficiently  clear.  Various  metaphors  in  the  Bible 
describe  the  Church  under  the  idea  of  it  which  I 
have  presented ;  an  idea,  which,  in  exhibiting  the 


6c  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

essential  marks  of  the  "  One  Holy  Catholic  Church," 
knows  nothing  of  any  outward  unity  in  submission 
to  one  temporal  human  head,  the  Pope  ;  nor  any 
thing  of  such  unity  in  subordination  to  One  Epis- 
copacy with  Sacraments  Episcopally  administered  ; 
an  idea,  in  short,  which,  in  unfolding  the  essential 
being  of  the  Church,  holds  forth  Christ  and  life 
from  Him  by  faith  in  the  Individual  Soul,  as  the 
very  base  and  substratum,  yea,  the  very  material 
and  superstructure  of  that  Church.  This  idea  of 
Christ's  "  Holy  Catholic  Church ''  the  Bible  cer- 
tainly  gives  ;  and,  doubtless,  it  is  only,  because 
many  have  been  so  long  familiar  with  a  different, 
so  long  wedded  to  a  conflicting  notion,  that  this 
seems  to  any  mind  strange,  or  otherwise  than  based 
on  the  highest  reason. 

The  Bible,  it  is  admitted,  often  uses  the  word 
Church  in  a  looser  sense :  it  often  speaks  of  the 
Church  as  a  thing  of  external  organization,  and  en- 
dowed with  a  ministry  and  sacraments  ;  and  in 
this  character  we  shall  hereafter  be  called  to  study 
the  subject.  For  the  present,  it  is  enough  to  add 
that  the  highest,  truest  idea  of  the  Church  which 
we  find  in  the  Bible,  is  that  in  which  Christ,  and 
individual  union  with  Him  by  a  true  faith,  with  the 
result  of  growing  spiritual  life,  constitute  the  very 
soul  and  body  of  the  Divine  Confederacy.  The 
Churcb,  in  this  idea  of  it,  is  a  thing  not  of  change- 


TESTIMONY  OF  SCRIPTURE.  6i 

ful  and  perishable  visibilities,   but  of  iDermanent 
and  imperishable  spiritualities.      It  is  essentially 
marked  by  just  such  inward  relations  and  affec- 
tions as  are  at  once  suggested  to  thought  by  the 
metaphors  under  which  we  have  seen  it  figured. 
The  Fold,  the   Family,   the  Bride,  tlie  Body,  the 
Temple !     What  things  of   life  are  these  !     How 
full  is  each  of  Divine  affinities !     What  a  Fold  is 
that  of  which  Christ  is  Shepherd  !     What  a  Fam- 
ily, in  which  Christ  is  Father  ;    what  a  Bride,  to 
which  Christ  is  Husband  ;   what  a  Body,  to  which 
Christ  is  Head  ;    and  what  a  Temple,    of   which 
Christ  is  both  Foundation-Stone  and  cement !  And 
whom  does  the  Bible  set  forth  as  participants  in 
these  holy  relationships  ?      It  shows  that  he  is  a 
sheep  of  Christ's  Fold  who  hears  His  voice  and 
follows  Him  ;    that  he  is  of  Christ's  Family  who  is 
born  unto  Him  by  the  Spirit,  through  the  truth  ; 
that  he  is  a  part  of  Christ's  Bride  who  is  espoused 
to  Him  in  faith  and  holy  love  ;  that  he  is  a  member 
of  Christ's  Body  who  draws  spiritual  life,  and  feels 
a  living  control,  from  Him  as  Head  :  and  that  he  is 
in  Christ's  Temple  who  is  built  on  Him  as  the  only 
Foundation,  and  grows,  as  by  a  Sacred  Cement,  to 
that  on  which  he  is  builded.     He  only  who  enters 
into  these  heavenly  affinities,  and  is  held  by  them, 
comes  within  the  scope  of  such  passages  as  have 
been  examined  ;    and  all  who  do  thus  enter,  and 


62  THE   LIVING   TEMPLE. 

are  thus  held,  in  affinity  with  Christ,  do  also  come 
within  the  scope  of  those  passages,  by  whatever 
outward  name  they  may  be  known,  in  whatever 
varying  clime  they  may  be  found,  and  under  what- 
ever outward  disadvantages  they  may  labor. 
Nothing  but  these  affinities  can  make  up  the  Body 
of  the  true  "  Holy  Catholic  Church,"  and  nothing 
can  cut  off  from  this  Bod}'  where  these  affinities 
really  exist.  In  the  Visible  Church,  as  we  shall 
hereafter  see,  outward  institutions  of  ministry,  and 
sacraments,  and  discipline,  have  their  proper  place, 
and  are  invested  with  due  importance.  They  bind 
us,  as  things  of  order  and  as  means  of  grace  ;  but 
they  bind  not  God,  as  essentials  to  Christian  life 
and  incorporation  into  Christ.  His  one  Holy 
Church  is  the  issue  of  His  vforking,  by  whatever 
means ;  and  when,  by  his  working,  it  is  gath- 
ered into  Christ,  nothing  can  cut  off  from  it 
that  does  not  at  the  same  time  sever  from  Christ 
himself. 

As  yet,  however,  I  have  examined  but  one  of  the 
two  sets  of  passages  referred  to.  Our  study  of  the 
other  must  be  reserved  for  the  next  chapter.  Mean- 
while, I  ask  two  things  :  that  you  will  not  conclude 
hastily  against  the  view  which  has  been  presented, 
and  that  you  will  not  write  me  down  as  no  Church- 
man because  I  have  attempted  to  unfold  this  view. 
In  what  I  have  yet  to  say,  I  hope  to  show  that 


TESTIMONY  OF  SCRIPTURE.  63 

this  view  of  the  Church  at  large  is  sustained  by 
our  own  standards,  and  that  the  view  thus  sus- 
tained is  in  perfect  keeping  with  all  good  fidelity 
and  affection  to  the  Church  of  our  own  tried 
loyalty  and  love. 


CHAPTER  III 

TESTIMONY    OF   SCRIPTUEE.      LITEEAL   TEXTS. 

XN  looking  into  the  Bible  for  the  ground  of  that 
-^  definition  of  the  Church,  which  makes  this 
Body  commensurate  with  the  whole  company  of 
"  the  saved/'  in  union  with  Christ  the  Saviour,  I 
have  already  examined  one  set  of  passages  which 
describe  the  Church  under  certain  metaphors. 
I  am  now  to  examine  another,  or  passages 
which  present  the  Church  under  its  own  proper 
name. 

This  examination  is  important,  because,  however 
clearly  the  Church,  described  by  those  metaphors, 
may  seem  to  correspond  with  the  idea  before  us, 
it  is  by  some  contended  that,  in  all  cases  where  the 
word  Church  is  used,  it  designates  an  outward  and 
mixed  body,  composed,  in  part,  of  true  believers, 
and,  in  part,  of  those  who  merely  profess  the  true 
faith,  though  they  may  be  self-deceived,  hypo- 
crites, or  apostates  ;  or  that,  in  the  Bible,  the 
word  Church  designates  a  visible  and  organized 
society,  with  officers,  sacraments,  and  mixed  body 

(64) 


TESTIMONY  OF  SGHIPTURE.  65 

of  members.  Now,  if  this  be  true,  it  will  appa- 
rently invalidate  our  interpretations  of  the  meta- 
phors which  have  been  examined.  But  if  it  be 
not  true,  if  there  be  passages  in  which  the  word 
Church  carries  the  sense  of  our  definition,  then 
will  our  interpretation  of  those  metaphors  be  con- 
iirmed,  and  the  doctrine  of  the  Church,  involved 
therein,  be  established. 

Now,  that  the  word  Church  is  often  used  in  the 
Bible  to  designate  a  visible,  organized  and  mixed 
society  has  already  been  freely  admitted.  And 
yet,  this  is  not  the  primitive  meaning  of  the  word, 
which  is  translated  by  the  term  Church.  In  its 
primitive  use,  the  word  Ecclesia  means  simply  an 
assembly,  an  aggregate  of  individuals  ;  and  it  has 
so  little  to  do  with  visible  organization,  rules  and 
constitution  of  government,  that  it  was,  in  early 
times,  applied  to  a  tumultuous  gathering,  a  very 
mob  ;  and  that,  to  designate  a  lawful,  or  organized 
body,  it  needed  an  adjective  to  express  the  quality 
of  lawfulness, or  organization.  Thus,  we  see,  that 
when  St.  Paul  was  preaching  at  Ephesus  (Acts  19 : 
23-41),  and  when  the  Ephesians,  thinking  the  honor 
of  their  goddess  in  peril,  and  being  excited  to  rage 
by  the  crafty  silversmith,  Demetrius,  ''  rushed," 
rabble-like,  "  into  the  theatre,"  and  for  "  two 
hours  "  shouted,  ''  Great  is  Diana  of  the  Ephe- 
sians ;"  though  ' '  the  whole  city  was  filled  with 
5 


66  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

confusion/'  and  ''  the  more  part  knew  not  where- 
fore they  were  come  together,''  save  to  threaten 
violence  to  the  Christians ;  yet,  this  very  mob,  the 
most  disorderly  of  its  kind,  was  called  anEcclesia. 
"  TheEcclesia,"  says  the  sacred  writer,  "  was  con- 
fused, and  the  more  part  knew  not  wherefore  they 
were  come  together."  And  then,  when  "  the  Town 
Clerk  "  had  succeeded  in  "  appeasing  the  people," 
he  "dismissed  the  Ecclesia,"  adding,  that  if  they. 
Jiad  any  actionable  matter  against  the  Christians  it 
"should  be  determined  in  a  lawful  assembly" — 

ev  riQ  evvofiG)  eKKXrjaia. 

The  word  itself,  therefore,  though  generally 
translated  Church,  yet  means  simply  an  assembly, 
with  no  reference  to  organization  and  government : 
and,  when  used  to  designate  an  organized  body, 
it  originally  needed  an  adjective  to  express  the 
quality  of  organization.  There  is  no  controlling 
reason  to  suppose  that,  when  the  word  first  came 
to  be  applied  to  Christians,  it  was  used  to  designate 
an  organized,  visible  Church,  in  our  sense  of  the 
term.  It  meant,  I  apprehend,  simply  the  unorgan- 
ized company  of  Christ's  disciples.  Afterwards, 
when  the  Christian  Church  had  become  an  organ- 
ized and  visible  body,  or  rather  a  multitude  of  such 
bodies,  the  word  was  doubtless  adopted  as  the 
common  name  of  each  ; — yet,  not  so  as  to  preclude 
its  first  use  as  the  name  of  the  one,  whole  company 


TESTIMONY  OF  SCRIPTURE.  67 

of  Christ's  true  disciples,  in  vital  union  with  Him 
as  their  one  divine  head. 

In  Acts  7  :  38,  the  word  is  applied  to  the  He- 
brews in  the  wilderness.  "  This,"  Moses,  "is  he 
that  was  with  the  Church,  r?/  eKuXrioLa,  in  the  wilder- 
ness." But  here  eKiiX7]Gta  means — not  the  Church 
of  God  under  the  Old  Testament  dispensation,  but — 
the  aggregate  of  individuals  constituting  the  politi- 
co-theocratic state  of  the  Hebrew  people.  An  or- 
ganized visible  Church,  as  distinct  from  that  social 
theocracy,  did  not  then  exist.  The  Hebrew  polity 
in  the  wilderness  was  a  theocratic  state,  carrying 
among  its  individuals  the  elements  of  the  spiritual 
Church,  rather  than  a  visible  organized  Church,  in 
distinction  from  the  state.  Acts,  7:  38,  may  prop- 
erly be  rendered,  ''  This  is  He  that  was  in  the  con- 
gregation in  the  wilderness  ; "  that  congregation 
being  the  whole  aggregate  of  the  Hebrew  people, 
and  not  a  Church,  as  we  understand  the  term. 

Again,  in  Matt.  18  :  17,  the  word  is  applied  to 
those  who  were  to  hear  complaints  against  offend- 
ers. "  If  he  shall  neglect  to  hear  them,''  the  "  two 
or  three  witnesses" — ''  tell  it  to  the  Church,"  rji 
sKKXTjGca,  etc.  But  to  argue  that  by  enKX-qata,  here 
is  meant  an  organized,  visible  Church,  with  power 
to  constitute  itself  a  court  for  the  trial  and  punish- 
ment of  offenders,  is  to  plant  the  seed  of  a  monster 
evil.     The  idea  of  a  Christian  Church,  with  author- 


68  THE  LIVING   TEMPLE. 

ity  to  try  offenses,  and  to  punish  by  the  infliction 
of  positive  penalty,  is  anti  -  Christian  and  has 
wrought  incalcuhible  mischief.  The  language  of 
Christ  implies  no  more  than  this  :  "  If  thy  brother 
offend  thee,  and  will  not  listen  to  personal,  pri- 
vate expostulation,  nor  to  that  of  two  or  three 
witnesses,  nor  to  the  assembly  of  the  brethren, 
withdraw  from  his  company  and  have  no  more  to 
do  with  him  than  with  the  rest  of  an  ungodly 
world."  This  is  all  the  power  of  discipline  with 
which  Christ  has  invested  His  disciples — the  power 
of  separating  themselves  from  all  approving  fellow- 
ship with  incorrigibly  unworthy  professors  of  His 
Gospel.  Vide  2  Thess.  3  :  6-15  ;  1  Tim.  6:3-5; 
1  Cor.  5  :  1  ad  fin.  The  word  etcK^7]Gta,  Matt.  18  : 
17,  does  not,  then,  imply  a  visible,  organized 
Church.  Such  a  Christian  body  had  not  then  come 
into  recognized  existence. 

Since,  then,  the  word  eKKXrjaia  does  not,  of  itself, 
imply  an  organized  visible  Church,  let  us  now  pro- 
ceed to  search  for  passages  in  which  it  is  used  to 
designate  the  whole  company  of  Christ^s  truly  be- 
lieving disciples — or,  the  simple  aggregate  of  those 
who  are  saved  through  Him. 


TESTIMONY  OF  8CEIPTVRE.  69 


II. 


Passages   which  present  the  Church  under  its 

OWN  PROPER  NAME. 

1.  I  cite,  first,  Matt.  16  :  18.  "Upon  this  rock 
I  will  build  MY  Church  ;  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall 
not  prevail  against  it." 

This  is  the  passage  on  which  Rome  relies  for 
establishing  her  claim  to  be  regarded  as  the  one 
visible  Catholic  Church,  and  the  claim  of  her  bish- 
op to  universal  supremacy,  as  successor  to  St.  Peter, 
and  sole  vicar  of  Christ  on  earth.  She  interprets 
the  passage  thus  :  "  Thou  art  Peter,"  a  rock,  "  and 
on  this  rock  I  will  build  my  Church  ;  and  the  gates 
of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it"  {vide  Encyc, 
Am.,  vol.  X.,  p.  253,  art.  "  Pope,  by  a  Catholic"); 
making  Peter  and  the  rock  identical,  constituting 
one  head  of  the  Church  on  earth,  and  making 
union  with  that  head  necessary. 

Now,  though  this  intcu^pretation  were,  in  princi- 
ple, correct,  it  would  yield  no  support  to  the  claims 
of  Rome  and  her  bishop,  unless  they  could  prove, 
what  history  furnishes  no  infallible  means  of  prov- 
ing, that  Peter  was  the  first  bishop,  or  ever  a 
bishop,  of  that  Church  ;  and,  what  there  is  no 
means  at  all  of  proving,  that  Peter's  primacy  among 


70  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

the  Apostles  made  the  Bishop  of  Rome  and  his  suc- 
cessors supreme  temporal  head  of  the  whole  Chris- 
tian Church  on  earth. 

But,  is  the  above  interpretation,  in  principle, 
correct  ?  Many  able  and  learned  commentators  on 
the  passage  have  answered  this  question  in  the 
negative.     Let  us,  then,  look  at  the  passage  itself. 

Christ  had  just  asked  His  disciples — "Who  do 
men  say  that  I  am  ? ''  And,  on  being  answered 
that  some  called  Him  "  John  the  Baptist ; "  others, 
"  Elias  ;  "  and  others  still,  "  Jeremias,"  or  ''  one  of 
the  prophets  ;  "  He  asked  again,  ''  But  who  say  ye 
that  I  am  ?  "  To  this  question,  addressed  to  them 
all,  Peter,  more  prompt,  as  well  as  pot-sibly  more 
divinely  enlightened,  than  the  rest,  replied,  '*Thou 
art  The  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God."  Jesus 
immediately  added;  "Blessed  art  thou,  Simon, 
Bar-jona,  for  flesh  and  blood  hath  not  revealed  it 
unto  thee  ;  but  my  Father  who  is  in  heaven.*'  Then 
follows  the  passage  quoted.  Let  us  read  the  two 
main  words  in  the  original  Greek:  "I  say  unto 
thee  thou  art  ne-pocr,''  (a  stone)  "and  upon  ravrxi 
Txi  TTerpa  (this  rock)  I  will  build  my  Church  ;  and  the 
gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it.''  Upon 
this  reading,  the  question  arises  ;  is  Uerpoo,  here, 
identical  with  Tai;r^  r^  Tze-pa  ?  If  Christ  had  intend- 
ed to  constitute  Peter  the  foundation  of  His  Church, 
would   He  not  have  said,   "Thou  art  Ue-poa,  and 


TESTIMONY  OF  SCRIPTURE.  71 

upon  rovT(^  TG)  TTerpG)  I  will  build  my  Church  ?  This 
He  did  not  say  :  He  changed  the  main  word  in  the 
sentence  :  and  the  question  is  pertinent  ;  why  this 
change  of  Uerpo^,  the  proper  name  given  to  a  disci- 
ple, to  Uerpa,  the  foundation  of  the  Church  ? 

For  light  on  this  point,  let  us  remember  that 
Christ  was  then  testing  His  disciples'  enlighten- 
ment as  to  His  true  character  :  *'  Who  do  men  say 
that  I  am?"  ''Who  say  ye  that  I  am?"— and 
that,  thus  examined,  Simon,  answering  apparently 
for  the  rest  as  well  as  for  himself,  had  "  witnessed 
a  true  confession"  by  replying,  ''Thou  art  the 
Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God."  This,  then, 
Jesus,  "  the  anointed,  the  Son  of  the  living  God" — 
a  truth  revealed  to  Simon,  and  peradventure  to 
others  of  the  disciples,  by  "the  Father  in  heaven," 
— this,  the  most  elementary  truth  of  Christianity, 
the  very  corner-stone  of  the  Christian  faith,  the 
very  life  of  the  Church — this  was  the  grand  dis- 
closure which  the  dialogue  had  elicited,  the  weighty 
theme  which  then  filled  all  their  minds.  Is  it  not, 
then,  in  the  highest  degree  improbable  that,  while 
His  own  soul  was  laboring,  and  while  the  minds  of 
His  disciples  were  filled,  with  the  grandest  birth 
of  revelation,  Jesus  dropped  the  sublime  theme, 
the  very  starting  point  and  goal  of  His  own  inqui- 
ries, wholly  out  of  His  thoughts,  brought  in  Simon, 
not  as  a  subordinate,  but  as  the  chief  object  of  re 


72  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE, 

gard,  and  sunk  the  sublime  teaching  of  the  occasion 
to  an  anti-climax  by  declaring  that  He  would  build 
His  forever  immovable  Church  on  the  foundation 
of  a  weak  and  unstable  man,  divinely  enlightened 
indeed  in  the  knowledge  of  his  Master's  Messiah- 
ship,  but  rash,  changeful  and  naturally  destitute  of 
the  high  moral  courage  of  a  great  character  ?     On 
the  contrary,  is  it  not,  in  a  corresponding  degree, 
probable,  that    Jesus  was    still  full  of  His  main 
theme,  and    that  he  wrought    it  out,  and  carried 
it  up  to  the  real  climax,  not  only  in  a  true  disclo- 
sure of  His  own  Messiahship,  but  also  in  the  asser- 
tion of  the  crowning  truth  that,  as  the  Messiah,  He 
is  "  the  chief  corner  stone  "  of  the  Church,  and  that 
"  other  foundation  can  no  man  lay  than  that  is 
laid?'^     And  is  it  not,  in  an  equal  degree,  prob- 
able that  His  allusion  to  Simon  was  but  incidental 
to  His  main  purpose,  designed  to  give  him  the  new 
proper  name,  Ue-poo,  by  way  of  commemorating  his 
confession  of  the  real  nerpa,  and  dignifying  him,  as 
on  other  occasions  He   dignified   the   rest  of  the 
Apostles,  with  the  badge  of  that  authorit}^,  which 
they  were  to  exercise  as  nearest  to  Himself  in  His 
own  "  glorious  Church  ?  " 

Taking,  then,  the  light  thus  thrown  upon  these 
two  words,  may  we  not  accept  the  following  as  a 
fair  paraphrase  of  the  whole  passage?  "What 
think  ye  of  my  person   and    character  ?      Simon 


TESTIMONY  OF  SCRIPTURE.  73 

answered,  '  We  believe  that  Thou  art  the  Messiah, 

the  Only  Begotten  of  the  living  God/     Jesus  said 

unto  him,  '  Thou  art  highly  favored,  Bar-jona  ;  this 

foundation- truth  of  Christianity  has  been  revealed 

to  thee  and  thy  fellow  disciples  not  by  man,  but  by 

my  Father  in  Heaven.     And  now  I  give  unto  thee 

a  new  name  ;  henceforth  thou  shalt  be  called  nerpoa, 

to  commemorate  thy  confession  of  me  as  the  true 

lierpa.     Upou  this  lierpa,  this  Eock,  besides  which 

no  man  can  lay  any  other  foundation,  I  will  build 

MY  Church  ;    so  that,  thus  founded  and  thus  built, 

no  persecutions  of  men,  no  subtleties  of  the  Devil, 

and  no  powers  of  Death,  shall  ever  prevail,  either 

to  extinguish  or  to  subvert  it.      Moreover,  in  this 

Church,  thus  divinely  founded,  and  thus  immovably 

built,  I  give   to  thee,  as  I  shall  hereafter  give  to 

thy  fellow  Apostles,  an  office  and  authority  peculiar 

to  yourselves,  as  nearest  to  me  in  my  evangelical 

kingdom,  the  power  of  opening  and  shutting,  with 

the  certainty  that  your  acts  on  earth  shall  be  ratified 

in  Heaven.'  "     (  Vide  1  Cor.  3  :  11  ;  Matt.  18  :  18  ; 

John  20  :  23.) 

For  one,  looking  at  the  passage  in  this  light,  I 
cannot  wonder  at  the  comment  of  Stillingfleet : 
''  The  Rock,  spoken  of  by  Christ  in  his  speech  to 
Peter,  if  taken  doctrinally,  was  St.  Peter's  confes- 
sion ;  if  taken  personally,  it  was  none  but  Christ 
himself;"     nor  can  I  marvel  that  insubstantial 


74  THE  LIVING  TESTPLE. 

agreement  with  him  are  to  be  found  Chrysostom 
and  Augustine,  with  other  fathers,  among  the 
ancients,  and  Jewell,  with  similar  authorities, 
among  the  moderns.  ( Vide  Fathers  of  the  Eng. 
Ch.,  vol.  7,  p.  302.) 

This,  however,  is  not  all  the  light  that  may  be 
made  to  shine  on  this  passage.  St.  Paul  throws  on 
it  another  powerful  ray.  "  Our  fathers,"  says  he, 
1  Cor.  10  :  1-4,  "  were  all  under  the  cloud,  and  all 
passed  through  the  sea  ;  and  were  all  baptized  unto 
Moses  in  the  cloud  and  in  the  sea  ;  and  did  all  eat 
of  the  same  spiritual  meat,  and  did  all  drink  of  the 
same  spiritual  drink  ;  for  they  drank  of  that  spir- 
itual Rock  that  followed  them,  and  that  Rock, 
iierpa,  was  Christ."  The  same  inspired  pen  which 
wrote  this  wrote  also  that  other  pregnant  sentence, 
"  Other  Foundation  can  no  man  lay  than  that  is 
laid,  which  is  Jesus  Christ.''  1  Cor.  3  :  11.  Here, 
then,  is  light  indeed,  the  very  Rock,  nsrpa,  by 
name,  of  which  Jesus  was  speaking  to  Peter,  Christ 
himself,  the  only  Foundation  of  His  Church.  This 
light,  too,  will  shine  all  the  clearer,  if  we  remember 
that  the  Prophet  who  wrote  the  Gospel  for  the 
Jews  had  predicted  Christ  under  this  very  idea 
of  a  Foundation  Rock.  "  Behold  I  lay  in  Zion  for 
a  foundation  a  Stone,  a  tried  Stone,  a  precious 
Corner  Stone,  a  Sure  Foundation  ;  he  that  believ- 
eth  shall  not  make  haste."     Isa.  28  :  16  ;   comp.  1 


TESTIMONT  OF  SCRIPTURE.  75 

Pet.  2  :  5,  6.  Tliese  words  of  Isaiali,  applied  to 
Christ  by  St.  Peter  himself,  embody  the  very  idea 
of  Jesus  in  Matt.  16  :  18.  Whosoever  ''  belie veth  " 
on  this  Foundation  Pock,  says  Peter,  *'  shall  not  be 
confounded.'^  The  Church  thus  founded  and  built 
shall  never  be  subverted.  The  disciples  to  whom 
Christ  spake  were,  doubtless,  familiar  with  this 
prophecy  of  Isaiah,  and  we  may  well  conclude  that 
this  prophecy  furnished  to  their  minds  the  key  to 
the  meaning  of  their  Divine  Master,  when  He  said  : 
'^On  this  Pock  I  will  build  my  Church,  and  the 
gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it."  They 
needed  no  labored  exposition  in  words  to  guide 
them  in  catching  liis  meaning  when  he  uttered 
those  living  truths,  proclaiming  Himself  alone  the 
eternal  Foundation,  safeguard  and  keeper,  of  His 
own  spiritual,  believing  Church. 

Let  us  briefly  draw  out  the  argument  from  what 
has  now  been  said.  Isaiah,  speaking  by  that 
^'  spirit  of  prophecy '^  which  is  "the  testimony  of 
Jesus,"  foretells  Christ,  as  the  Foundation  of  a 
believing  and  immovable  Church.  Christ  Himself, 
whose  inspiration  spake  by  that  prophet,  calls  the 
Foundation  of  His  Church,  ner|oa,a  Rock.  And  St. 
Paul,  speaking  by  revelation  from  the  same  In- 
spirer,  declares  that  this  lierpa,  Rock,  was  Christ. 
This  is  light  from  the  Bible.  The  Rock,  in  Matt. 
16  :  18,  is  not  Simon,  but  Christ  Himself;  and  His 


76  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE, 

words  to  His  disciple  mean  just  this  :  ''  I  give  thee 
the  new  name,  Jierpoa,  because  thou  hast  truly  con- 
fessed me,  the  predicted  ne-pa,  the  anointed  Son  of 
the  living  God  ;  and  on  this  Rock  I  will  build  my 
Church,  that  living  Temple  of  believers,  which 
shall  never  be  moved." 

And  now,  let  us  inquire,  what  kind  of  a  Church 
is  this  ?  I  answer,  it  is  a  Church  whicli  Christ 
builds,  not  man.  "  On  this  Rock  I  will  build  my 
Church."  Christ  is  Builder  here,  and  only  Christ. 
He  is  truly  a  Builder.  Not  only  is  He  the  true 
Foundation,  but  He  really  and  ceaselessly  works  in 
building  on  that  Foundation.  He  does  all  the  work 
in  the  Building.  By  His  Spirit  and  His  Truth  He 
lays  every  stone  in  the  edifice.  '*  On  this  Rock  I 
will  build  my  Church."  Here  is  no  mistake,  no 
fallibility,  no  human  infirmity,  in  selecting  and 
arranging  the  materials.  All  is  done  with  a  Divine 
Master- Workman's  science  and  skill.  Christ  selects 
every  piece,  and  builds  it  into  the  one  sacred 
Temple  ;  and  he  never  builds  upon  Himself  and 
into  union  with  Himself  the  souls  of  unbelieving, 
self-deceived,  or  hypocritical  men.  He  builds 
with  those  only  who  accept  His  invitation,  "  come 
to  Him  "  by  faith,  and  "  find  rest  unto  their  souls  ; '' 
those  only  who  live  and  walk  in  Him,  "  rooted  and 
built  up  in  Him,  and  stablished  in  the  faith."  This 
is  what  makes  His  Church   immovable.      Against 


TESTIMONY  OF  SCRIPTURE.  77 

the  Cliurch,  in  a  merely  visible  sense,  "  the  gates 
of  hell "  have  oft  prevailed.  By  the  floods  which 
have  poured  through  those  open  gates,  the  Churches 
of  Jerusalem,  and  Antioch,  and  Africa,  and  those 
Seven  of  the  Proconsular  Asia,  have  all  been 
swept  away;  and  the  same  has  virtually  happened 
to  all  the  other  and  later  Churches  of  the  East — 
mere  fragments  of  them  tottering  still,  to  make 
their  desolations  the  more  visible  ;  while,  as  to 
even  the  great  Western  Church  of  the  seven-hilled 
city,  though  those  wasteful  floods  of  hell  leave  her 
still  standing  in  imposing  magnitude,  yet  have  they 
filled  her  with  their  own  deep  impurities,  and  left 
her  thus,  the  all  but  deadly  enemy  of  the  Gospel. 
But  the  true  Church  of  Christ,  the  Church  of  all 
believers,  the  Church  which  he  has  built  and  is 
building  on  Himself,  from  all  nations  and  all  names, 
this  has  never  been  moved  ;  against  this  the  floods 
from  the  gates  of  hell  have  beaten  and  shall  for- 
ever beat  in  vain.  Against  this  they  never  have 
prevailed,  and  never  can  prevail.  This  Church 
rests  on  Christ,  and  He  keeps  it  safe  from  every 
storm. 

Such,  I  venture  to  conclude,  is  the  sense  of  this 
famous  passage.  In  looking  for  the  meaning  of 
such  very  peculiar  language,  unquestionably  in- 
tended to  draw  Christ  Himself  into  view,  in  His 
most  essential,  live-giving  office,  it  is  quite  below 


78  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

the  subject  to  suppose  that  He  ends  by  founding 
His  Church  on  a  fallible  creature,  to  be  built  up 
with  the  implements  of  a  human  ministry,  sent 
forth,  in  all  their  infirmity  of  judgment,  to  gather 
into  a  visible  society  all  sorts  of  men,  the  believ- 
ing and  the  unbelieving,  the  holy  and  the  unholy  ; 
united,  as  such  heterogenous  elements  must  neces- 
sarily be,  by  merely  outward  bonds  in  an  external 
organization.  Nothing  can  come  up  to  the  nature 
of  the  occasion  and  the  design  of  the  discourse, 
but  that  view  which  considers  Christ  as  presenting 
Himself,  "  the  anointed  Son  of  the  living  God,'' 
the  living  and  the  life-giving  Saviour,  building  on 
Himself  His  own  Spiritual  Church  ;  by  His  Word 
and  Spirit  calling,  teaching,  and  drawing  believing 
souls  into  vital  union  with  Himself ;  and  thus  con- 
stituting them,  in  Himself,  an  impregnable  Church, 
the  vast  "  assembly ''  of  those  who  "  have  received 
Christ  Jesus  the  Lord,"  and  who  ''  walk  in  Him, 
rooted  and  built  up  in  Him  and  established  in  the 
faith."  Col.  2  :  6,  7.  This  is  work  for  the  Divine 
Builder  ;  and  those  only  on  whom  He  works  with 
effect,  are  members  of  that  Church  which  rests  on 
Himself,  never  to  be  moved. 

I  will  only  add,  that  at  the  time  when  Christ 
uttered  the  words  which  we  have  been  examining, 
no  distinctly  Christian  organization  existed.  Either, 
therefore,  the  word  Church,  in  this  passage,  must 


TESTIMONY  OF  SCRIPTURE.  79 

mean  the  Spiritual  Church  of  which  I  have  spoken, 
or  it  must  signify  the  then  visible  Church  under 
the  Jewish  Dispensation,  to  be  followed  by  its  visi- 
ble Gentile  successor  ;  the  Jewish  being  about  to 
crucify  the  Son  of  God,  and  the  Gentile  destined 
often  to  "  crucify  Him  afresh,  and  to  put  Him  to 
an  open  shame."  Do  the  occasion,  then,  and  the 
words  which  it  called  forth,  point  to  the  Church 
in  this  latter  sense  ?  No.  The  Church,  built  on 
Christ,  has  another  character  and  shares  another 
destiny. 

2.  I  cite,  next,  Acts  2  :  47.  "And  the  Lord 
added  daily  to  the  Church  such  as  should  be 
saved  ;"  literally,  added  "  the  saved  "  (jova  au)^oiie- 
^ov^)  to  the  Church."  The  participle  here  is  the 
present,  not  the  future,  as  we  have  it  in  our 
translation ;  those  who  "  are  saved,"  not  those 
who  shall,  or  should,  peradventure,  be  saved. 

This  passage  refers  to  a  fact  anterior  to  any 
distinct  development  of  a  visible  and  organized 
Christian  Church.  As  a  "  communion  of  saints," 
indeed,  the  "Ecclesia"  had  existed  from  the  be- 
ginning ;  and  to  this  "  the  saved  "  might  be  added. 
The  Visible  Church,  under  the  Jewish  Dispensa- 
tion, as  a  sort  of  Theocratic  State,  was  also  still  in 
existence  ;  but,  as  it  was  then  passing  out  of  life,  it 
is  not  supposable  that  "  the  saved  "  were  added  to 
that  dying  organization.     Since  then  the  Church, 


8o  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

as  a  distinctly  visible  Christian  organization,  can 
not  be  said  to  have  more  than  begun  to  develop 
itself,  it  is  the  more  probable  that  by  "  theEccle- 
sia"  here,  to  which  "the  saved  were  added,"  is 
meant  the  enduring  "  communion  of  saints  "  of  all 
ages  ;  Christ's  "  One  Holy  Catholic  Church  ;"  the 
unfailing,  the  never  transitory  Church.  To  this 
''the  saved"  were  a  truly  fitting  addition;  and 
the  term  fitly  indicates  the  idea  of  "  theEcclesia'' 
as  it  probably  existed  in  the  mind  of  the  inspired 
writer.  The  sense  of  the  passage,  then,  may  be 
thus  expressed:  ''The  Lord  daily  increased  the 
Ecclesia,  the  great  company  of  the  saints,  by  the 
addition  of  those  who  were  then  saved."  The 
increase  was  in  exact  proportion  to  the  number  of 
"  the  saved.''  No  other  element  seems  to  have  been 
then  in  view.  The  Church  here  described  was, 
evidently,  the  simple  aggregate  of  "  the  saved." 
And  this  becomes  the  more  evident,  when  we  look 
at  the  language  used  :  "  The  Lord  added,"  not 
man.  The  added  were  baptized,  indeed,  but  it 
was  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  well  as  with  water. 
It  is  true  that,  as  the  Christian  organization  gradu- 
ally took  on  its  visible  development,  we  begin  to 
find  evidence  of  man's  work,  not  the  Lord's.  An- 
nanias  and  Sapphira,  and  Simon  Magus  appear 
among  "the  sacramental  host,"  and  are  cut  off; 
but  under  that  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  dur- 


TESTIMONY  OF  SCRIPTURE,  gi 

ing  the  first  sermon  of  St.  Peter,  we  hear  of  none 
but  '*  the  saved,"  and  of  nothing  but  the  Lord's 
work  in  saving  them.  The  Lord  would  have  His 
Church  to  consist  of  none  but  "  the  saved  ;"  but 
when  ''  the  saved  "  began  to  assume  distinctly  the 
forms  of  a  visible  organization,  the  evidences  of 
man's  infirmity  began  to  show  themselves  in  the 
mixing  among  them  of  earth's  impure  and  unsaved 
elements.  I  doubt  not,  indeed.that  at  the  time  re- 
ferred to  (Acts  2  :  47),  the  visible  Church,  under  its 
Christian  form,  was  beginning  to  develop  itself.  Its 
ministry  had  received  their  commission,  and  they 
were  just  entering  on  their  labors  in  preaching 
the  Gospel  and  baptizing  converts.  Nevertheless, 
I  think  the  words,  rov^  ou^ofievovg,  may  be  con- 
sidered as  showing  what  was  the  true  primitive 
idea  of  the  Church,  as  the  living  and  holy  body  of 
*'  the  saved  "  in  Christ. 

3.  I  cite  next,  Eph.  1:  22,  23:  ''And  gave 
Him  Head  over  all  to  the  Church,  which  is  His 
Body,  the  fullness  of  Him  that  filleth  all  in  all." 

In  seeking  the  idea  of  the  Church,  of  which 
Christ  is  here  styled  the  Head,  it  is  important  to 
look  at  the  context.  The  Apostle  prayed  for  the 
Ephesian  converts,  that  "  the  God  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  the  Father  of  glory,  would  give  unto 
them  the  spirit  of  wisdom  and  revelation  in  the 
knowledge  of  Him  ;  the  eyes  of  their  understand- 
6 


82  THE   LIVING  TEMPLE. 

ing  being  enlightened  that  they  might  know  what 
is  the  hope  of  His  calling,  and  what  the  riches  of 
the  glory  of  His  inheritance  in  the  saints,  and 
what  the  exceeding  greatness  of  His  power  to  us- 
ward  who  believe,  according  to  the  working  of  His 
mighty  power,  which  He  wrought  in  Christ  when 
He  raised  Him  from  the  dead,  and' set  Him  at  His 
own  right  hand  in  the  heavenly  places,  far  above 
all  principality,  and  power,  and  might,  and  domin- 
ion, and  every  name  that  is  named,  not  only  in 
this  world,  but  also  in  that  which  is  to  come."  And 
then  he  goes  on  to  address  them  as  those  who,  hav- 
ing been  "dead  in  trespasses  and  sins,''  were  at 
length,  unlike  all  the  rest  of  a  dead  world,  "  quick- 
ened together  with  Christ,  and  raised  up  together, 
and  made  to  sit  together  in  heavenly  places,"  or 
relations,  in  "  Christ  Jesus."  Such  is  the  context, 
before  and  after  the  passage  which  I  have  cited  ; 
and  it  must  be  allowed  that  the  persons  here 
described,  in  connection  with  the  word  Church,  were 
the  renewed  subjects  of  Christ's  mighty  and  saving 
power.  His  whole  discourse,  in  this  part,  teems 
with  the  loftiest  possible  conceptions  of  the  char- 
acter and  privileges  of  those  who  belong,  in  faith 
and  holiness,  to  Christ.  These  conceptions  lie  all 
round  the  word  Church,  as  here  used.  They  enter 
into  that  word,  and  embody  themselves  alone  in 
the  idea  to  which  the  name  Church  is  given.  Glory 


TESTIMONY  OF  SCRIPTURE.  83 

shines  round  about  it,  from  the  Resurrection  mys- 
tery on  earth,  and  from  principalities  and  powers 
in  Heaven  ;  from  the  inward  shining  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  from  the  surrounding  brightness  of 
divine  affinities  to  Christ.  This  glorious  Church 
embodies  "the  Hope  of  Christ's  calling;"  it  is 
''His  Inheritance  in  the  Saints."  It  displays  "  the 
exceeding  greatness  of  His  power  towards  them 
that  believe."  It  constitutes,  in  the  truest  sense, 
"  His  Body;  "  and  to  this,  by  a  divine  affinity.  He 
is  united  as  ''Head."  It  is  the  fullness  of  Him 
thatfilleth  "all  in  all." 

These  last  words  fix  the  sense  of  the  term  Church, 
in  this  place  :  "the  fullness  of  Him  that  filleth  all 
in  all."  This  Church  is  the  fullness  of  Christ, 
because  without  it  He  considers  Himself  incom- 
plete, wanting  the  most  important  of  the  "prin- 
cipalities and  powers  "  that  are  subject  unto  Him. 
It  is  the  COMPLEMENT  of  Himsclf,  that  which  renders 
Him  complete  in  His  spiritual  dominion.  A  King 
must  have  a  Kingdom,  and  a  Head  must  have  a 
Body,  or  neither  of  them  is  complete.  A  kingdom 
is  thus  the  complement,  or  "fullness"  of  a  king; 
and  a  Body  is  the  complement  or  "  fullness"  of  a 
Head.  In  the  same  sense  the  Church  is  the  com- 
plement or  "fullness"  of  Christ.  It  is  that  Body, 
without  which  the  very  idea  of  His  Headship 
would  be  incomplete.     Hence  the  Apostle  declares. 


8^  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

*'  Ye  are  complete  in  Him,  which  is  the  Head  of  all 
priucipality  and  power."     Col.  2  :  10. 

What,  then,  is  the  character  of  that  Body,  which 
is  thus  Christ's  "fullness''?  Are  wicked  men, 
baptized  unbelievers  and  hypocrites,  part  of  Christ's 
fullness?  Is  the  idea  of  His  Headship  incomplete 
without  them  ?  It  is  not  a  suflScient  answer  to  this 
question  to  say  that  the  Church,  necessary  to  com- 
plete the  idea  of  Christ's  Headship,  may  contain 
some  dead  or  false  members,  and  that,  therefore, 
the  mixed,  visible  Church,  may  be  called  "  the 
fullness  "  of  Christ  ;  for,  to  show  the  utter  inad- 
missibility of  this  construction,  the  language  of  the 
passage  before  us  is  made  still  more  peculiar : 
"  The  fullness  of  Him  that  filleth  all  in  all."  This 
Church  is  so  His  fullness  that  He  filleth  it  "all  in 
all."  Taken  in  its  connection,  this  is  not  a  mere 
general  assertion  of  Christ's  Omnipresence  in  the 
world.  It  is  a  special  declaration  of  His  indwelling 
in  the  Church.  He  fills  this  Church,  "  all  in  all." 
He  fills  all  the  members  with  all  needed  grace  ; 
all  that  is  necessary  to  the  perfecting  of  the  divine 
whole.  The  Church  is  His  "  fullness,"  and  He  fills 
His  Church  "  all  in  all."  There  is  no  member  of  this 
Church  whom  He  does  not  ultimately  fill  with  "  all 
spiritual  grace  and  benediction."  This  one  passage 
illustrates  the  sense  of  all  parallel  cr  analogous 
passages,  and  shows  that,  in  the  Bible,  we  are  pre- 


TESTIMONY  OF  SCRIPTURE.  85 

sented  with  a   Church   identical   with  the   whole 
company  of  ''  the  saved." 

4.  I  cite,  next,  Eph.  3  :  9,  10,  11,  20,  21  :  Tn 
his  peculiarly  elevated  strain  iho^  Apostle  here  de- 
clares that  God  ''  created  all  things  by  Jesus  Christ. 
To  the  intent  that  now,  unto  the  principalities  and 
powers  in  heavenly  places  might  be  known  by  the 
Church  the  manifold  wisdom  of  God,  according  to 
His  eternal  purpose  which  He  purposed  in  Christ 
Jesus  our  Lord.''  And  then,  as  a  fitting  doxology 
to  that  most  sublime  prayer  which  closes  the  chap- 
ter, he  adds  :  ''  Now,  unto  Him  that  is  able  to  do 
exceeding  abundantly  above  all  that  we  ask  or 
think,  according  to  the  power  that  worketh  in  us, 
unto  Him  be  glory  in  the  Church  in  Christ  Jesus, 
throughout  all  ages,  world  without  end."  In  this 
last  expression,  the  grammatic  turn  of  the  language 
is  similar  to  that  of  the  passage.  Acts,  7  :  38  :  ''^^ 

rg  eKK/irjata  kv  ry  eprjfKoJ^      Eph.  3  :    21  :    '' ^v  rri  EKKAirjaia 

kv  XplGTG).^^ 

"To  Him  be  glory  in  the  Church  in  Christ 
Jesus  ; "  the  Church  which  is  in  Him  truly,  by  a 
divine  affinity.  A  visible,  mixed  Church  is  not 
thus  in  Him.  Only  a  part,  the  true  and  sanctilled 
members,  are  really  in  Him.  But  the  whole 
Church,  here  mentioned,  is  really  and  truly  in  Him. 
It  is  '4he  Church  in  Christ  Jesus."  It  is,  there- 
fore, the  spiritual  and  holy,  and  not  the  visible  and 


86  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

mixed  Church,  of  which  the  Apostle  speaks.  This 
alone  comes  up,  fully  and  justifyingly  to  the 
amazing  strength  of  the  language  used.  This, 
only  is  the  Church,  which  "now  makes  known," 
and  will  forever  make  known,  ^'  unto  the  Heavenly 
principalities  and  powers,  the  manifold  wisdom  of 
Grod."  This  only  was  and  is  a  body  fit  to  be  com- 
prehended in  God's  "eternal  purpose,  which  He 
purposed  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord."  None  but  the 
vast  assembly  of  "the  saved"  were  included 
in  that  august  purpose  of  the  everlasting  age. 

5.  I  cite,  next.  Col.  1  :  18,  24  :  "He  is  the  head 
of  the  body,  the  Church."  I  "rejoice  in  m}^  suf- 
ferings for  3'ou,  and  fill  up  that  which  is  behind  of 
the  afflictions  of  Christ  in  my  flesh,  for  His  Body's 
sake,  which  is  the  Church." 

In  the  context,  here,  the  Apostle  speaks  of  those 
whom  God  had  "  made  meet  to  be  partakers  of  the 
inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light ;"  whom  He  "  had 
delivered  from  the  power  of  darkness  and  trans- 
lated into  the  kingdom  of  His  dear  son  ; "  who  had 
been  "  alienated  and  enemies  in  their  minds  by 
wicked  works,"  but  whom  Christ  at  length,  had 
"  reconciled  in  the  body  of  His  flesh  through  death, 
to  present  them  holy,  and  unblamable  and  unre- 
provable  in  His  sight ;"  and  to  whom,  as  "  saints," 
God  would  "  make  manifest  the  riches  of  the  glory 
of  His  mystery  among  the  Gentiles,  which  was — • 


TESTIMONY  OF  SCRIPTURE.  gy 

Christ  in  them,  the  hope  of  glorj."  The  company, 
thus  described,  are  represented  as  ''reconciled" 
to  God  "  through  the  blood  of  the  Cross,''  and  as 
existing,  like  the  spiritual  family,  formerly  describ- 
ed, "  whether  in  earth  or  in  heaven."  In  the 
midst  of  these  strong  expressions,  so  peculiarly 
descriptive  of  the  saints,  and  of  the  Evangelic  king- 
dom of  Christ,  the  Apostle  brings  in  the  same  idea, 
as  in  another  place,  of  Christ's  supreme  dominion 
over  heavenly  principalities  and  powers  ;  of  His 
creation  of  all  things  ;  and  of  the  divine  pleasure 
''that,  in  Him  should  all  fullness  dwell."  And  it 
is  while  uttering  all  this,  that  St.  Paul  says  of 
Christ,  "  He  is  the  head  of  the  body,  the  Church  ;" 
and  professes  to  "rejoice  in  his  sufferings,"  and  in 
"  filling  up  that  which  is  behind  of  the  afflictions  of 
Christ"— "for  His  Body's  sake,  which  is  the 
Church."  Is  it  not  plain,  then,  that  though  speak- 
ing to  the  probably  mixed  company  of  professed 
disciples  in  Colosse,  yet  he  was  speaking  of  a 
Church  of  immeasurably  larger  comprehension,  and 
of  truly  homogeneous  character  ;  the  "  one  holy 
Catholic  Church,  the  communion  of  saints  "  in  all 
ages,  and  in  both  worlds  ? 

6.  I  cite,  next,  Eph.  5  :  25-27  :  "  As  Christ  also 
loved  THE  Church,  and  gave  Himself  for  it ;  that 
He  might  sanctify  and  cleause  it  with  the  washing 
of  water  by  the  word  ;  that  He  might  present  it  to 


88  THE   LIVING  TEMPLE. 

Himself  a  glorious  Church,  not  having  spot,  or 
wrinkle,  or  any  such  thing  ;  but  that  it  should  be 
holy  and  without  blemish." 

If  the  Church,  here  described,  be  the  visible 
Church,  composed  of  the  unexcommunicated  sub- 
jects of  baptism,  we  shall  be  driven  to  admit,  what 
indeed  a  certain  class  of  doctors  strenuously  main- 
tain, that  all  the  baptized  who  die  not  excommuni- 
cate, are  saved  ;  and  that,  in  order  to  their  salvation, 
a  purgatory  is  necessary  to  purify  the  countless  my- 
riads of  the  baptized  who  die  in  all  the  defilement 
of  sin.  For,  that  the  Church  here  described  is  all 
saved  is  manifest  from  what  precedes,  as  well  as 
from  the  passage  itself  The  words  occur  in  an 
exhortation  to  husbands  and  wives.  "The  hus- 
band," says  the  Apostle,  "  is  the  head  of  the  wife, 
even  as  Christ  is  the  head  of  the  Church  ;  and  He 
is  the  Saviour  of  the  Body."  That  is,  as  I  have 
said  in  another  place,  marriage  is  a  sacred  symbol 
of  the  union  between  Christ  and  the  Church.  With 
the  Church,  as  here  intended,  Christ  holds  a  living 
and  spiritual  affinity  ;  and  His  Union  with  it  is 
saving:  ''He  is  the  Saviour  of  the  Body."  The 
whole  Body  of  which  He  is  the  Saviour,  is  identi- 
cal with  the  whole  Church  of  which  He  is  the  head. 
As  no  part  of  the  Body  of  which  He  is  the  Saviour 
is  lost,  so  no  member  of  the  Church  of  which  He  is 
thus  the  head  perishes.    His  headship  in  it  is  vital, 


TESTIMONY  OF  SCRIPTURE.  89 

sanctifying,  saving.  And  so  it  follows,  He  ''loved 
this  Church  " — all  of  it — "  and  gave  Himself  for  it, 
that  He  might  sanctify  and  cleanse  it  with  the 
washing  of  water  by  the  Word,"  or  by  the  sancti- 
fying and  cleansing  power  of  the  Spirit  and  the 
Truth,  as  predicted  under  the  figures  of  "  sprink- 
ling and  pouring  clean  water  "  on  the  true  people 
of  God  (Ezek.  36  :  25-27  ;  Isa.  44  :  3),  and  "  that 
He  might  present  it  to  Himself  a  glorious  Church, 
not  having  spot,  or  wrinkle,  or  any  such  thing  ; 
but  that  it  should  be  holy  and  without  blemish." 
Is  it,  then,  an  admissible  opinion,  that  the  Apostle 
is  here  speaking  of  the  visible  Church  of  all  the 
baptized  ?  Is  Christ  the  Saviour  of  this  body 
taken  aa  a  whole  ?  We  cannot  receive  a  proposi- 
tion so  manifestly  untrue.  And  yet,  the  Church 
here  described  is  just  that  Body,  of  which  taken  as 
a  whole  Christ  is  the  Saviour.  Not  the  visible 
Church  of  the  baptized,  then,  but  the  spiritual 
Church  of  "the  saved,"  is  the  subject  of  this 
passage. 

7.  I  cite,  next,  1  Tim.  3:15:  "  That  thou  might- 
est  know  how  thou  oughtest  to  behave  thyself  in  the 
house,"  or  household,  "of  Grod,  which  is  the 
Church  of  the  living  God,  the  pillar  and  ground 
of  the  truth." 

Some  of  the  best  of  the  old  doctors,  like  Arch- 
Bishop  Cranmer,  understand  this  well-known  pas- 


90  THE   LIVING  TEMPLE. 

sage  in  the  sense  which  I  urge.  Speaking  in  their 
style,  we  should  say,  the  Church  here  named  is 
the  live  Church  of  the  living  God.  As  such,  it  is 
really  "  the  pillar  and  ground  of  the  truth."  It  re- 
ceives, exhibits  and  supports  the  truth,  always  in 
its  purity,  and  in  its  entireness.  Nothing,  save  its 
divine  Head,  is  so  precious  to  it  as  this  truth. 
Nothing,  save  Christ,  is  so  loftily  held  up  and  so 
unwaveringly  maintained  by  it.  Death  is  sweeter 
to  this  Church  than  treason  to  the  truth.  The 
spirit  of  this  Church  is  always  the  martyr  spirit. 
Of  the  Church,  as  a  visible  and  mixed  body,  this 
cannot  be  said.  In  this  character,  it  has  often  be- 
trayed, and  oftener  atill  corrupted,  or  concealed  the 
true  and  saving  Word  of  God.  It  is  onl}^  the  live 
Church  of  Christ  that  always  retains,  magnifies  and 
preserves  the  pure  Word  of  His  living  truth. 

8.  I  cite,  next,  Heb.  2  :  10-13  :  ''It  became 
Him,  for  whom  are  all  things  and  by  whom  are  all 
things,  in  bringing  many  sons  to  glory,  to  make 
the  Captain  of  their  salvation  perfect  through  suf- 
ferings. For^  both  He  that  sanctifieth  and  they 
w^ho  are  sanctified,  are  all  one  ;  for  which  cause  He 
is  not  ashamed  to  call  them  brethren  :  saying,  I 
will  declare  thy  name  unto  my  brethren  ;  in  the 
midst  of  THE  Church  will  I  sing  praise  unto 
thee.''  .  .  ''  Behold  ;  I,  and  the  children  which 
God  hath  given  me  1  " 


TESTIMONY  OF  SCRIPTURE. 


9" 


la  this  passage,  the  meaning  of  the  word, 
Church,  is  uneoueealably  manifest.  God  proposes 
to  Himself  a  great  object,  the  '*  bringing  of  many 
sons  to  glory  ;"  the  salvation  of  the  countless  mul- 
titude of  His  holy  ones.  He  furnishes  the  means 
of  securing  this  great  object,  by  "  making  the  Cap- 
tain of  their  salvation  perfect  through  sufferings," 
the  atoning  sacrifice  of  the  Lamb  of  God.  He 
brings  forth  the  result  of  the  whole  in  the  "  one '^ 
sacred  family  of  Him  "  that  sanctifieth  and  them 
that  are  sanctified.''  And  then,  this  sanctifying 
Saviour  appears  among  them,  and  calls  them 
"brethren" — His  spiritual  kin,  the  "children, 
whom  God  hath  given  Him  ;"  and  having  done  all 
this,  He  names  them  "the  Church,"  in  the  midst 
of  which  He  is  to  praise  the  Father  of  this  whole 
plan  and  consummation.  The  word  Church,  here,  is 
undeniably  a  synonym  of  the  company  whom 
Christ  calls  His  "  bretliren  ; "  His  brethren,  not 
only  in  that  He  shared  with  them  their  human  na- 
ture, but  also,  in  that  they  share  with  Him  his 
spiritual  life.  And  carrying  back  the  thought 
through  the  passage  ;  this  company  of  brethren, 
with  Christ,  are  identical  with  that  "one  "  sacred 
family  of  the  sanctifier  and  the  sanctified  ;  as  these, 
in  their  turn,  are  identical  with  that  bright  army 
of  "  sons  "  under  the  victorious  "  Captain  of  their 
salvation,"  whom,  from  age  to  age,  God  is  "  bring- 


92  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

ing  to  glory:"  "one"  company,  under  different 
names  :  so  that,  what  stands  forth  in  the  last  as 
the  Church,  is  simply  the  ''sons  of  glory"  in  the 
first,  of  these  significant  nominations.  . 

9.  And  last,  I  cite  Heb.  12  :  22-24  :  "Ye  are 
come  unto  Mount  Zion,  and  unto  the  city  of  the 
living  God,  the  Heavenly  Jerusalem  ;  even  to  an 
innumerable  company  of  angels  ;  to  the  general 
assembly  and  Church  of  the  first-born,  which  are 
written  in  Heaven  ;  and  to  God,  the  Judge  of  all ; 
and  to  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect ;  and  to 
Jesus,  the  Mediator  of  the  new  covenant ;  and  to 
the  blood  of  sprinkling,  that  speaketh  better  things 
than  that  of  Abel." 

Here  light  shines  demonstratively  on  the  point 
which  lam  illustrating.  The  "Mount  Zion,"  "the 
city  of  the  living  God,"  "  the  Heavenly  Jerusalem, '^ 
are  simply  synonyms  of  the  one  whole  Fellowship 
of  God's  holy  subjects,  consisting,  as  our  hymn 
expresses  it,  of  "angels,  and  living  saints  and 
dead;"  or,  as  a  part  of  this  passage  has  it,  of  the 
"innumerable  company  of  angels,"  and  "  the  gen- 
eral assembly  and  Cliurch  of  the  first-born,  which 
are  written  in  Heaven,"  and  "  the  spirits  of  just 
men  made  perfect;"  the  whole  in  subjection  "to 
God,  the  Judge  of  all,"  and  "  to  Jesus,  the  Mediator 
of  the  new  Covenant."  With  the  "  angels,"  as  one 
part  of  this  vast  communion,  our  argument  is  not 


TESTIMONY  OF  SCRIPTURE.  93 

specially  concerned.  Our  interest  is  with  the  other 
part,  "the  general  assembly  and  Church  of  the 
first-born;"  ''living  saints  and  dead,"  ''written 
in  Heaven  "  while  living  on  earth,  and  becoming, 
when  they  enter  Heaven,  the  "  spirits  of  just  men 
made  perfect."  These  "  living  saints  and  dead" 
make  up  "  the  general  assembly  and  Church  of  the 
first-born,"  as  this  and  the  "innumerable  company 
of  angels  "  make  up  the  entire,  grand  comprehen- 
sion, "  the  city  of  the  Living  God,  the  Heavenly 
Jerusalem." 

Here,  then,  we  have  the  Church,  in  the  very 
idea  of  it  which  I  am  illustrating — the  assembly,  on 
earth  and  in  Heaven,  of  the  saved  and  the  glorified. 
It  is  not  merely  the  Church  as  it  will  be  after  the 
Day  of  Judgment,  but  the  Church  as  it  now  is  and 
will  be,  consisting  of  saints  alive  in  the  flesh,  and 
of  saints  alive  as  yet  only  in  the  spirit.  To  this 
Church  every  true  believer  comes,  when  he  comes 
by  a  living  faith  to  Christ.  "  Ye  are  "  (or  rather 
have)  "  come  to  the  general  assembly  and  Church 
of  the  first-born." 

It  is,  to  me,  quite  surprising  that  McKnight 
translates  this,  "Ye  shall  come,"  etc.  Hebraisti- 
cally,  he  changes  a  Greek  past  into  an  English 
future  tense,  on  the  ground  that  we  cannot  be  said 
to  come  now  "to  the  Heavenly  Jerusalem,"  that 
coming  being  a  yet  future  event.     Obviously,  no 


54  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

such  strain  upon  language  is  needed  by  the  trans- 
lator of  this  passage.  We  may  as  well  say  that 
we  do  not  "  come  to  God,  and  to  Jesus,  and  to  the 
blood  of  sprinkling,"  until  after  the  Day  of  Judg- 
ment, as  to  say  that  we  cannot  come  to  "  the 
Heavenly  Jerusalem  "  until  after  that  Day.  Because 
part  of  the  Universal  Communion  is  already  in 
Heaven,  that  is  no  reason  why  we  may  not  enter 
it  on  earth.  We  must  enter  it  on  earth,  or  we 
shall  never  enter  it  in  Heaven.  True  believers 
"  come  now  to  God  ; "  they  come  now  "  to  Jesus, 
the  Mediator  of  the  New  Covenant,"  and  to  ''the 
blood  of  sprinkling."  And  the}^  come  now  "  to  the 
innumerable  company  of  angels,"  and  to  "  the 
spirits  of  the  just  made  perfect,"  considered  as 
parts  of  "the  Heavenly  Jerusalem,"  the  Universal 
Fellowship  of  the  holy.  They  come  to  all  these 
now,  by  the  faith  that  makes  them  one  in  Christ. 
They  come  now,  in  the  realizings  of  Life  eternal, 
begun  already  in  their  souls,  and  in  those  inner 
sealings  of  the  Spirit  "  whereb}^  they  are  sealed 
unto  the  Day  of  Redemption."  .  These  are  all  pres- 
ent realities ;  the  earthly  privileges  of  their 
"citizenship  in  Heaven;"  the  seals,  in  time,  of 
their  "joint  heirship  with  Christ"  of  the  full  and 
glorious  inheritance  of  His  Kingdom  in  Eternity. 
They  wait  not  for  these  things  in  dubious  gloom 
till  the  darkness  of  the  grave  be  past.     The  light 


TESTIMONY  OF  SCRIPTURE.  95 

of  them  slimes  clear  on  their  blessed  lot  in  the  land 
of  the  living.  All  these  things,  however,  are  no 
more  surely  God's  truth  than  is  this  other  :  that 
true  Christians  come  now  to  this  "  General  Assem- 
bly and  Church  of  the  first-born."  The  names  of 
all  the  members  of  this  Church  are  ''written  in 
Heaven  "  while  they  sojourn  upon  earth  ;  and  the 
Church  to  which  they  thus  belong  hath  a  life  which, 
at  the  same  time,  touches  and  animates  every  saint 
below  and  every  saint  above. 

This,  then,  is  the  Church  in  its  essence  and  in 
its  comprehension.  The  Bible  teaches  this  doctrine 
of  the  Church.  Every  soul  that  hath  a  true  faith 
in  Christ  is  a  member  of  the  true  Church  of  Christ ; 
and  this  idea  of  the  Church  is  unspeakably  more 
grand  and  more  important  than  all  that  men  can 
conceive  of  outward  splendor  and  visible  unity. 

Here  I  close  my  examination  of  passages  in 
support  of  that  definition  of  the  Church  which  I 
have  given.  All  the  metaphors  and  all  the  literal 
texts  examined  are  filled  with  light  from  this  last 
description  of  the  Church.  They  all  come  together, 
and  find  their  full  expression  in  this  one  graphic 
outline  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  as  it  now  exists 
on  earth  and  in  Heaven. 

In  the  next  chapter  I  propose  to  enter  on  some 
further  views  of  the  subject. 


CHAPTER  lY. 

DISTINCTION     BETWEEN     VISIBLE     AND     SPIRITUAL 


"A /TY  next  step,  in  the  present  course  of  study, 
±fX  ^ii\    ^^jjg  jj^Q   Ijj^q  g^jn^  examination  of    the 

standards  and  standard  writers  of  our  Church  on 
the  subject  before  us,  in  order  to  show  that  the 
view  of  the  Church,  which  I  have  presented,  is 
neither  novel,  nor  without  the  amplest  support  of 
human  testimony.  Before  entering  on  this  exami- 
nation, however,  I  wish  to  offer  a  few  preparatory 
remarks. 

It  was  one  of  the  strong  features  of  the  Protest- 
ant Reformation  that  it  drew  into  prominence 
that  long-hidden  idea  of  the  Church,  which,  it  is 
the  design  of  this  Treatise  to  exhibit.  ''The 
Church,'' said  one  of  the  teachers  of  that  great  age 
(see,  Lambert's  Theses  in  DAubigne's  Hist.  Ref, 
vol.  iv.  p.  34),  "The  Church  is  the  congregation," 
the  EKKXrioLa,  "  of  those  who  are  united  by  the  same 
spirit,  the  same  faith,  the  same  God,  the  same  Me- 
diator, the  same  Word,  by  which  alone  they  are 

(96) 


TESTIMONY  OF  STANDARDS. 


97 


governed,  and  in  which  alone  they  have  life. 
D'Aubigne,  the  historian  of  that  age,  observes  : 
'*  Undoubtedly,  the  Lord  has  left  His  Church  out- 
ward seals  of  His  grace  ;  but  He  has  not  attached 
salvation  to  these  signs.  The  essential  point  is, 
the  connection  of  the  faithful  with  the  Word,  with 
the  Holy  Ghost,  and  with  the  Head  of  the  Church. 
This  is  the  great  truth,  which  the  Reform  proclaims.^' 
[Hist.  Ref ,  vol.  iv,  p.  107.]  The  opposite  doctrine 
has  tended  to  generate,  at  least  in  the  common 
mind,  the  idea  that  "  the  Church  saves.''  It  was 
the  great  work  of  the  Reformation  to  bring  out, 
into  proper  distinctness,  the  truth  that  Christ  alone 
saves,  and  that  the  Church  in  its  largest,  highest 
sense,  is  just  the  body,  or  communion,  of  "  the 
saved.'' 

1.  Against  this  definition  of  the  Church,  how- 
ever, it  is  objected,  that  it  rests  on  a  distinction  be- 
tween what  is  called  the  visible,  and  what  has  been 
termed  the  invisible  Church.  This  distinction,  it 
is  contended,  is  groundless.  To  many  ecclesiasti- 
cists  the  thought  of  giving  the  name,  Church,  to  the 
simple  aggregate  of  those  who  believe  in  Christ 
unto  life  eternal,  and  whose  hearts  are  with  cer- 
tainty known  to  God  only,  seems  positively  dis- 
tasteful. It  is  not,  however,  under  that  distinction, 
but  under  this  objection  and  this  repugnance  to  it, 
that  the  groundlessness  really  lies. 
7 


98  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

That  there  is  a  vast  company,  composed  exclu- 
sively of  saints,  or  true  believers  in  Christ  ;  that 
He  is,  in  the  truest  sense,  their  spiritual  or  mysti- 
cal Head  ;  and  that  they  are,  in  the  truest  sense, 
His  spiritual  or  mystical  body  ;  these  things  are  as 
certain  as  that  there  are  a  Bible  and  a  Saviour. 
Why,  then,  should  not  the  name,  Church,  be  given 
to  what  is,  in  reality,  a  Church, — the  holy  company 
thus  constituting  one  mystical  Body  in  union  with 
its  one  mystical  Head  ?  Has  it  not  already  been 
shown,  that,  to  this  company,  the  name.  Church,  is 
actually  given  by  inspiration  itself?  The  Bible, 
indeed,  speaks  of  visible  and  organized  bodies  as 
Churches.  Such  were  "the  seven  Churches"  of 
Asia,  and  other  distinct,  outward  organizations. 
But  the  Bible  also  speaks  of  the  company  of  '*  the 
saved,''  of  holy  believers  in  Christ,  as  the  Church  ; 
and  therefore  justifies  the  distinction  between  the 
visible  and  the  spiritual  Church.  These,  indeed, 
are  not  two  separate,  independent  bodies,  without 
any  mutual  relation.  In  this  world,  the  spiritual, 
is  contained  in  the  visible,  as  wheaten  kernels  are 
contained  in  the  husks  and  straw  :  still,  the  two  are 
distinguishable  and  ought  never  to  be  confounded. 
A  field  of  the  growing  grain  is  called  wheat  ;  and 
so  is  a  measure  of  the  pure,  clean  kernel  ;  and  the 
latter  is  the  true  wheat,  that  for  which  the  whole 
crop  is  cultivated.     Is  this  making  the  chaff  and 


TESTIMONY  OF  STANDARDS.  gg 

the  straw  of  no  value  ?  By  no  means.  They  are 
temporarily  very  important.  They  minister  to  the 
protection,  growth  and  ripening  of  the  kernel  ; 
but  when  the  kernel  is  full  grown  and  ripe,  they 
are  separated  and  set  aside,  to  very  inferior  uses. 
In  like  manner,  a  visible  organization  is  called  a 
Church  ;  and  so  is  the  spiritual  company,  ''  the 
communion  of  saints  :"  and  it  is,  in  the  largest, 
highest  sense,  the  Church,  that  for  which  all  visible 
Churches  are  organized.  Nor  is  this  to  disparage 
the  Church  as  a  visible  organized  body.  This  lat- 
ter is  of  great  importance.  It  ministers,  or,  at 
least,  was  designed  to  minister,  to  the  protection, 
nurture,  and  perfecting  of  the  saints  in  life  and 
godliness.  But  it  is  not,  in  the  highest  sense,  the 
Church ;  and  when  the  saints  shall  all  have  been 
gathered  in  from  the  fields  of  time,  the  visible  or- 
ganization will  be  laid  aside,  as  of  no  longer  any 
use.  The  true  Church,  alone,  will  survive,  livins: 
from  the  beginning  of  time  through  all  coming 
eternity. 

2.  It  has  been  objected  again,  that  the  very  ety- 
mology of  the  word,  kKKXr]aU,  Church,  implies  the 
visibility  of  the  company,  thus  named  ;  and  that,  as 
derived  from  the  verb,  KaXeib,  "  I  call,"  there  is  the 
same  difference  between  the  ^KfcXrjala,  the  visible 
Church,  and  the  peculiar  company  of  the  ''  saved,'' 
as  there  is,  in  Matt.  20  :  16,  between  the  derivative 


100  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

KATjTolj  "called,"  and  the  knXeKroi,  "  chosen  r'  the 
icXriroi  including  all  to  whom  the  call  of  the  Gospel 
is  brought  in  the  visible  Church  ;  and  the  eKXeKrol, 
none  but  those  who  are  saved. 

This  criticism  implies  that  the  knXeKroX,  by  them- 
selves, are  not  to  be  regarded  as  the  Church.  As 
a  criticism,  however,  I  think  it  will  not  bear  ex- 
amination. In  Matt.  20  :  16,  indeed,  the  katitoI  and 
the  mXenTol  describe  the  two  companies  of  the  pro- 
miscuously called,  and  the  really  saved  :  and  if  the 
word,  rendered  Church,  were  simply  kXtigU,  the 
criticism  would  have  some  weight.  But,  we  find 
an  important  addition  made  to  that  word.  It  is  not 
merely  kXtigU,  but  kK-KX'qala  ;  derived,  not  merely 
from  mXeC)j  "  I  call,''  but  from  the  compound,  ek- 
KaXew,  ''I  call  out."  This  makes  the  sK-fcXTjala,  or 
Church,  agree  in  force  with  the  eKXenrol,  and  desig- 
nate, as  I  have  urged,  the  company  of  "  the  saved," 
and  not  merely  that  of  "  the  called,"  as  the  Church. 
So  far  as  mere  etymology  is  concerned,  the  kKuXriaXa 
is  a  company  "  called  out;"  as  Christ  said  of  His 
disciples  ;  "  I  have  chosen  you  out  of  the  world." 
The  EKKXTjala  are  called  out  of  the  world,  as  the 
ekXektoI  are  chosen  out  of  the  world ;  the  two  words 
are  etymological  equivalents.  Besides,  in  Eom. 
8  :  29,  kX7]tol^  called,  is  identical  in  sense  with 
skXektoI,  chosen,  in  Matt.  20  :  16. 

As  to  the  alleged  visibility  of  the  eKKXrjGla,  this 


TESTIMONY  OF  STANDARDS.  loi 

makes  nothing  against  this  sense  of  the  word.  The 
old  phrase  "  Invisible  Church/^  may  mislead  us 
here.  What  is  meant  by  this  phrase  ?  In  the 
seventeenth  century,  a  period  of  intense  conflict 
between  the  Protestant  Church  in  England  and  her 
Eomish  opponents,  it  was  a  phrase  much  in  use. 
Whether  it  was  a  wisely  selected  phrase,  it  may 
be  doubted.  But,  be  this  as  it  may,  it  meant — not 
that  the  Church,  in  this  idea  of  it,  is  a  mere  ab- 
straction, an  invisible  notion,  but — that  the  faith  in 
Christ  and  its  resulting  holiness,  which  constitute 
men  members  of  this  Church,  are  invisible,  seen  of 
none  but  God.  God  only  knows,  with  absolute  cer- 
taint}^,  who  belong  to  this  true  Church  of  Christ, 
His  "  foundation  standeth  sure,  having  this  seal ; 
the  Lord  knoweth  them  that  are  His."  2  Tim.  2  : 
19.  "  By  their  fruits  we  may  know  them  "  reason- 
ably well  ;  still,  our  judgments  on  this  evidence  are 
fallible.  God  only  "  knoweth  who  are  His  "  in 
such  a  way  as  not,  by  any  possibility,  to  be  de- 
ceived. For  this  reason  the  old  writers  called  the 
whole  communion  of  "  the  saved,"  the  '' Invisible 
Church."  The  persons  of  those  who  constitute  it, 
so  long  as  they  live,  are  visible  ;  but  their  inward 
proofs  of  membership  are  invisible.  Their  organi- 
zation under  Christ  as  Head  is  spiritual,  not  an  ob- 
ject of  sense.  God  alone  can  point  out  their 
persons   with  infallible  certainty.      Thus  under- 


102  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

stood,  there  can  be  no  solid  objection  to  the  phrase  ; 
though  I  have  not  chosen  to  adopt  it,  because,  in 
every  respect,  save  that  of  the  secret  of  true  mem- 
bership, and  organization  in  Christ,  the  individuals 
in  this  Church  are  as  visible  as  any  others  in  the 
world.  The  fmaX^ala,  as  equivalent  to  the  kaXEHTol, 
are  visible  in  person,  though  each  carries  within  an 
invisible  union  with  Christ. 

3.  In  John  10  :  26,  occurs  a  passage,  already 
referred  to,  which  recognizes  this  distinction  be- 
tween the  mixed  and  the  spiritual  Church.  "Ye 
believe  not,  because  ye  are  not  of  my  sheep,  as  I 
said  unto  you.''  The  Jews,  here  adressed,  were 
natural  descendants  from  Abraham  ;  they  claimed 
God  as  their  Father  ;  John  8  :  34-42,  and  they 
were  members  of  the  then  existing  visible  Church. 
And  yet,  Christ  tells  them  that  "  they  were  not  of 
His  sheep,"  as  He  had  before  told  them  that  "  the}^ 
were  of  their  father,  the  devil.*"  John  8  :  44.  Not- 
withstanding their  membership  in  the  visible 
Church,  they  were  not  of  Christ's  Fold,  the  true 
Church.  Then,  as  well  as  now,  the  mixed  and  the 
spiritual  Church  existed  ;  and  Christ  knew  perfect- 
ly the  distinction,  as  well  as  the  relation,  between 
the  two. 

Equally  significant  is  the  language  of  St.  Paul, 
Rom.  2  :  28,  29.  "He  is  not  a  Jew,  who  is  one 
outwardly  ;  neither  is  that  circumcision,  which  is 


TESTIMONY  OF  STANDARDS.  103 

outward  in  the  fleKsh  ;  but  be  is  a  Jew  who  is  one 
inwardl}^ ;  and  circumcision  is  that  of  the  heart,  in 
the  spirit,  and  not  in  the  letter  ;  whose  praise  is 
not  of  men,  but  of  God  :''  and  the  sitnilar  language, 
Rom.  9  :  6-8.  "  They  are  not  all  Israel,  who  are 
of  Israel ;  neither  because  they  are  the  seed  of 
Abraham,  are  they  all  children  ;" — "  that  is,  they 
which  are  the  children  of  the  flesh,  these  are  not 
the  children  of  God  ;  but  the  children  of  the  pro- 
mise are  counted  for  the  seed  ;" — as  also  that  of 
Gal.  3:7.  "  Know  ye,  therefore,  that  they  which 
are  of  faith,  the  same  are  the  children  of  Abra- 
ham." 

In  all  these  passages,  the  distinctioji  between 
the  visible  and  the  spiritual  Israel,  between  the 
mixed  and  the  spiritual  Church,  is  manifest.  Mem- 
bership in  the  spiritual  company  is  constituted,  not 
by  a  mere  ""  outward  "  bond,  but  by  a  divine,  in- 
ward work  ;  ''  the  circumcision  of  the  heart,  in  the 
spirit,  and  not  in  the  letter,  whose  praise  is  not  of 
men,  but  of  God."  ^'  The  children  of  the  promise," 
they  who,  inheriting  Abraham's  faith,  have  the 
bond  of  a  spiritual  kindred  with  Abraham — these, 
and  only  these,  ''are  counted  for  the  seed."  In 
making  up  the  real  Family  of  Christ,  the  promised 
Seed,  none  but  these  are  "counted,"  or  taken  into 
Heaven's  reckoning.  The  true  Israel,  of  all  Dis- 
pensations, never  has  been,  and  never  will  be,  com- 


104  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

posed   of  any  but   a   really   believing   and   holy 
seed. 

The  Bible,  then,  clearly  recognizes  the  distinction 
between  the  Church  as  a  mixed,  local  and  temporal 
arrangement,  and  the  Church  as  a  spiritual^  uni- 
versal, and  eternal  Body  in  Christ.  When  we 
seize  and  hold  up  this  distinction,  therefore,  we  are 
not  following  a  mere  floating  illusion  of  our  own 
brain,  but  are  grasping  one  of  the  settled  verities 
of  the  Word  of  God.  There  is  a  mixed,  and  there 
is  a  spiritual  Church.  The  two  are  distinguishable, 
though  related  Bodies.  The  amount  of  their  rela- 
tion, however,  is,  in  this  world,  a  variable  quantity. 
At  times  they  have  been  more  nearly  identical, 
their  distinction  approaching  the  vanishing  point. 
Then,  again,  they  have  been  immensely  unlike, 
held  together  by  a  scarcely  perceptible  bond. 
Sometimes,  the  visible  Church  has  been  nearly  all 
pure  wheat,  almost  thoroughly  purified  by  the  win- 
nowing fan  of  persecution  and  the  hallowing  breath 
of  the  Spirit.  At  others,  under  long,  mildewing 
seasons,  it  has  nearly  all  run  to  husks  and  straw, 
with  but  here  and  there  a  sound,  ripe  kernel  to  be 
found.  Thus,  when  the  fires  of  pagan  persecution 
kept  the  outward  Body  comparatively  free  from 
dross,  the  visible  and  the  spiritual  Church  were 
nearly  one  and  the  same  ;  but,  in  later  ages,  when 
the  fires  were  lighted  in  Christ's  name,  and  turned 


TESTIMONY  OF  STANDARDS,  105 

against  the  true  gold  of  His  own  Spiritual  Temple, 
then  the  visible  Church  contained  little  but  impure 
and  noisome  elements.     In  its  most  obtrusive  char- 
acteristics, it  became  an  offensive  body  of  Death, 
though  seated  on  thrones  and  chairs  of  state  ;  while 
the  spiritual  Church,  so  far  as  any  portion  of  it 
lingered  on  earth,  was  but  a  hidden  body  of  Life, 
concealed  among  mountains  and  caves.     The  one 
was  mainly  a  gorgeous  system  of  forms  and  formal 
persecutors  ;    the  other,  a  little  company  of  faith 
and  faithful  sufferers  ;  the  two  being  held  in  rela- 
tion by  some  remaining  bonds,  but  scarcely  touch- 
ing each  other  by  the  links  of  a  kindred  life.     In 
all  ages,  however,  the  distinction  between  the  two 
has  never  disappeared,  nor  has  there  ever  been  a 
time  when  ih^  name.  Church,  did  not  as  rightfully 
belong  to  the  spiritual,  as   distinguished  from  the 
visible  Body. 

4.  Another  remark.  Not  only  is  this  distinction 
recognized  in  the  Bible,  but  it  is  a  distinction  evi- 
dently vital.  Its  importance  to  sound  Christian 
theology  can  hardly  be  overstated.  This  point 
deserves  a  fuller  discussion  than  can  now  be  given. 
I  must,  however,  at  least,  glance  at  three  par- 
ticulars. 

(1.)  It  is  important  to  a  right  understanding  of 
the  unity  of  the  Church. 

Christ  and  His  Apostles,  we  know,  insist  much 


io6  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

on  the  union  of  Christians,  or  the  unity  of  the 
Church.  They  speak  of  the  benefits  of  this  unity; 
of  its  necessity  as  an  evidence  to  the  world  of 
Christ's  mission  from  the  Father;  and  of  the  evils 
of  violating  this  unity;  and  in  His  last  and  all- 
prevalent  prayer,  Christ  virtually  prophecies  that 
this  unity  shall  continue  unbroken,  and  that  its 
glorious  testimony  to  the  Truth  shall  be  felt  and 
acknowledged  by  the  world. 

But  of  what  Church  is  this  sacred,  this  Divine 
unity  predicated  ?  This  is  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant questions  in  Christian  theology.  Yolumes 
have  been  written  on  it.  In  answer,  however,  I 
can  afford  space  for  saying  no  more  than  this  :  that 
the  unity  on  which  Christ  so  fervently  insists,  that 
blest  and  heavenl}^  bond  which  makes  Christians 
one,  even  as  Christ  and  the  Father  are  one,  resides 
in  the  spiritual  Church.  It  is  a  reality  and  an 
actuality  in  this  Church,  and  in  no  other.  In  this 
Church  that  unity  has  never  been  broken.  Injured 
more  or  less,  through  human  infirmity,  it  has  been; 
but  broken,  never.  In  the  main,  it  has  been  pre- 
served untouched.  True  disciples  of  Christ  Have 
disputed,  and,  while  unknown  to  each  other,  have 
indulged  harsh  and  unkind  feelings  ;  but  it  has 
never  needed  more  than  that  they  should  come 
together  and  know  each  other  truly  to  show  them 
how  perfectly,  in  all   essential   things,  they  were 


TESTIMONY  OF  STANDARDS.  107 

one  in  Christ.  This  coii)ing  together  in  thorough, 
mutual  knowledge  has  ever  proved  the  joining  of 
the  two  ends  of  that  electric  chain  of  spiritual  kin- 
dred, which,  starting  from  the  heart  of  Christ, 
passes  round  through  the  heart  of  every  true 
Christian,  and,  returning  to  Christ  again,  holds  the 
whole  in  one  sacred  brotherhood.  That  touch  of 
mutual  knowledge  and  intercourse  has  ever  been 
all  that  was  needed  to  start  the  current  of  their 
sympathetic  life,  and  put  it  instantly  in  warm, 
glowing  and  blissful  circulation.  0  Yes  !  It  is  no 
dream;  it  is  true !  This  mutual  and  thorough 
knowledge  of  each  other  has  ever  been,  to  true 
Christians,  the  sweet  though  silent  voice  of  Christ 
in  their  hearts,  speaking  their  brief  tempests  into 
''a  great  calm,"  and  making  them  realize  that  the 
vessel  in  which  they  are  embarked  carries  Him 
who  carries  Heaven!  Under  the  one  Divine 
Headship  of  Christ,  this  spiritual  Church  holds, 
and  will  hold  forever,  unbroken  unity.  Ecclesias- 
tical history  shows  us,  on  the  contrary,  that,  in  the 
visible  Church,  unity  under  one  human  head  and 
organization  has  never  been  more  than  a  baseless, 
impracticable  theory  ;  and  that  all  efforts  to  force 
such  a  unity  have  been  productive  of  little  else 
than  fightings,  bloodshed,  and  hypocrisy ! 

(2.)    The  distinction  between  the  Spiritual  and 
the  Yisible  Church  is  important  to  a  right  under- 


io8  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE, 

standing  and   use  of  the   Promises   of  the  Gos- 
pel. 

We  know  that  "exceeding  great  and  precious 
promises  are  given  "  to  the  followers  of  Christ ;  and 
that  some  of  these  promises  seem  to  apply  to  them 
in  their  social  rather  than  in  their  individual 
capacity.  "Where  two  or  three  are  gathered 
together  in  my  name,  there  am  I  in  the  midst  of 
them."  Matt.  18  :  20.  "  Whatsoever  ye  shall  ask 
in  prayer,  believing,  ye  shall  receive."  Matt.  21: 
22.  "  My  sheep  hear  my  voice,  and  I  know  them, 
and  they  follow  me;  and  I  give  unto  them  eternal 
life;  and  they  shall  never  perish,  neither  shall  any 
pluck  them  out  of  my  hand."  John  10  :  27,  28. 
"No  weapon  that  is  formed  against  thee  shall 
prosper;  and  every  tongue  that  shall  rise  against 
thee  in  judgment  thou  shalt  utterly  condemn." 
Tsa.  54 :  17.  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto 
the  end  of  the  world."  Matt.  28  :  20.  Such  are  a 
few  only  of  this  class  of  promises. 

Here,  then,  arises  a  question,  similarly  important 
to  sound  Christian  theology.  Are  these  and  similar 
promises  made  to  professing  Christians  as  a  visible, 
or  to  actual  believers  as  a  spiritual  Church  ?  And 
the  brief  but  confident  reply  is,  the}^  are  made  to 
the  latter  as  a  spiritual  Church — as  the  one  whole 
communion  of  Christ's  true  followers.  To  this 
Church  only  are  these  promises  appropriate,  and 


TESTIMONY  OF  STANDARDS.  109 

to  this  only  have  they  been  fulfilled.  This  Church 
has  evermore  Christ's  presence.  Against  this 
Church  no  weapon  has  ever  prospered.  In  Christ's 
promises  she  is  virtually  omnipotent.  In  His  faith- 
fulness her  final  victory  is  sure.  His  promises  are 
her  heritage,  and  His  grace  her  possession.  His 
blessings  clothe  her  with  the  garments  of  salvation. 
She  is  "  the  King's  Daughter,  all  glorious  within," 
and  her  mercies  ever  have  been  and  ever  shall  be 
"  the  sure  mercies  of  David."  All  this  can  be  said 
of  the  Church  in  no  other  sense  than  that  in  which 
she  is  spiritual,  truly  a  "  communion  of  saints."  To 
apply  these  promises  to  the  Church  as  a  visible, 
organized,  mixed  Society,  ever  has  been,  and  ever 
must  be,  a  source  of  perilous  delusion  to  the  souls 
of  men. 

(3.)  This  distinction,  finally,  is  important  to  a 
right  understanding  of  the  Infallibility  of  the 
Church. 

We  know  that  there  is  a  sense  in  which  the 
Church  has  been  endowed  with  the  attribute  of 
infallibility,  or  indefectibility.  "  The  Church  of 
the  living  God"  is  ''the  pillar  and  ground  of  the 
Truth."  The  Holy  Spirit  is  to  "  guide  her  into  all 
Truth."  And  against  her,  in  her  truth  as  well  as 
in  her  being,  ''the  gates  of  hell"  are  never  to 
prevail. 

But  the  question  arises,  and  one  more  important 


no  THE   LIVING  TEMPLE. 

to  sound  Christian  theology  can  hardly  be  asked : 
So  far  as  infallibility  is  implied  in  these  and  similar 
exjDressions,  is  it  an  attribute  of  the  visible  or  a 
gift  to  the  spiritual  Church  ?  And  we  shall  be  safe 
in  replying,  to  the  latter,  and  to  no  other.  This, 
only,  has  never  either  fatally  or  materially  erred. 
By  the  ver}"  terms  of  its  being,  in  holding  to 
Christ,  the  Head,  it  holds  to  everything  essential, 
and  to  nothing  essentially  opposed, to  His  Truth. 
The  spiritual  Church  has  often  bled  in  defense  of 
the  Truth,  but  it  has  never  turned  a  traitor  to  its 
cause.  But  not  so  on  the  contrary  supposition. 
The  visible  Church  has  often  and  fundamentally 
erred.  Indeed,  the  theory  of  an  infallibility  vested 
in  the  visible  Church  has  done  little  else  than  to 
stereotype  the  most  destructive  errors. 

The  points  thus  briefly  noticed  have  made  Chris- 
tian theologj^  for  ages  one  wide  field  of  conflict, 
simply  because  they  have  been  drawn  out  of  their 
true  connection,  and  forced  into  a  position  for  which 
they  were  never  designed  ;  and  the  conflict  about 
them  will  never  cease  until  Christ  has  again  His 
own  ;  until  He  is  acknowledged  as  the  only  Centre 
of  Unity  in  His  Church  ;  until  His  promises  are 
regarded  as  the  heritage  of  that  Church  in  her  spir- 
itual oneness  only;  and  until  men  cease  to  seek  for 
infallibility  anywhere  save  in  her  Divine  Head,  in 
His  own   Inspired  Word,  and  in  His  ''One  holy 


TESTIMONY  OF  STA  NBARDS.  1 1 1 

Catholic  Church,"  as  verily  a  **  Communion  of 
Saints." 

I  proceed  now  to  look  at  the  standards  and 
standard  writers  of  our  Church,  for  the  purpose  of 
showing  that  the  definition  of  the  Church,  which  I 
have  given,  is  neither  novel  nor  without  the  amplest 
support  of  human  testimon}^ 

In  doing  this,  it  is  evidently  proper  to  look  for 
this  idea  of  the  true  spiritual  Church  in  the  devo- 
tional, rather  than  in  the  dogmatical,  standards  of 
our  communion.  In  her  devotional  standards,  our 
Church  bears  her  part  with  the  whole  body  of 
spiritual  worshipers,  and  therefore  speaks  the 
language  of  true  catholicity;  but  in  her  dogmatical 
standards  she  legislates  for  her  own  government 
and  discipline,  and  therefore  speaks  for  herself 
only,  without  claiming  to  bind  others  in  all  things 
to  her  judgments.  It  is  in  her  worship,  emphat- 
ically, that  she  appears  as  the  true  Catholic. 

1.  In  the  Collect,  then,  for  ''  All  Saints'  Day,"  she 
addresses  God  as  having  "knit  together  His  elect 
in  one  communion  and  fellowship,  in  the  mystical 
body  of  His  Son,  Christ  our  Lord  ; "  and  prays  for 
''grace  so  to  follow  His  blessed  saints  in  all  virtuous 
and  godly  living,  that  we  may  come  to  those  un- 
speakable joys,  which  he  has  prepared  for  those 
who  unfeignedly  love  Him  ;  through  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lord." 


,12  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE, 

This  language  is  strictly  evidence  m  the  ease 
before  us.  Our  Church  is  here  teaching  as  well  as 
praying.  She  is  uttering  her  mind  on  a  great  and 
important  subject,  and,  in  doing  so,  she  gives  a  dis- 
tinct and  comprehensive  definition  of  the  "one 
holy  Catholic  Church."  She  defines  it  as  God^s 
*'  elect,"  neither  disconnected,  nor  yet  organized 
under  visible  constitution,  but  "knit  together  in 
one  communion  and  fellowship,  in  the  mystical 
body  of  His  Son  Christ."  Now,  this  "one  com- 
munion and  fellowship,  knit  together  in  the  mystical 
body  of  Christ,"  is  a  true  Church,  or  there  is  no 
such  thing  as  a  Church  on  earth  or  in  Heaven.  Of 
whom,  then,  is  this  Church  composed  ? 

In  answer  to  this,  bear  in  mind  that  the  Collect 
is  a  pra^^er  for  "all  saints."  And  who  are  all 
saints  ?  Are  they  Romish  saints  only,  or  Episcopal 
saints  exclusively  ?  No  ;  but  God's  saints  ;  His 
"blessed  saints;"  His  saints  in  Patriarchal,  in 
Hebrew,  and  in  Jewish  times  ;  His  saints  in  the 
days  of  Christ,  of  His  Apostles,  and  of  all  Chris- 
tian ages  ;  His  saints  now  and  always  ;  His  saints 
here  and  everywhere  ;  His  saints  alive  in  the  flesh, 
and  alive  in  "  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect." 
All  these,  and  only  these,  are  the  members 
"elect,"  the  "knit  together  in  one  communion  and 
fellowship  in  the  mystical  body  of  Christ ;  "  in  the 
one  truly  united  and  holy  Church,  of  which  Christ 


TESTIMONY  OF  STANDARDS.  113 

is  the  divinely  constituted  Head  ;   and  the  Collect 
teaches  us  to  pray  for  "grace  so  to  follow"  these 
recognized  saints  of   God,    "in   all  virtuous  and 
godly  living,  that  we  too  may  come  to  those  un- 
speakable joys  which  God  has  prepared  for  those 
who  unfeignedly  love  Him.^'  These  last  words  are 
a  Biblical  exposition  of  the  term  "elect,"  in  the 
opening  of   the  Collect.      The   "elect"   are  they 
"  who  unfeignedly  love  God."     "  All  things,"  says 
St.  Paul,  "  work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love 
God,  to  them  that  are  the  called  according  to  His 
purpose."     Here,  "  they  that  love  God,"  and  the 
"  elect,"  or  "  called  according  to  His  purpose,"  are 
identical  in  sense.     They  are  mutually  explanatory. 
So,  in  the  Collect  before  us,  they  "  who  unfeignedly 
love  God,"  and  the  "elect  in  one  communion  and 
fellowship"  are  identical  in  meaning.      They  are 
mutually  exegetical.     The  language  at  the  close  of 
the  collect,  therefore,  is  equally  available  with  that 
at  the  opening  and  in  the  middle,  for  the  settlement 
of  the  question,  Who  compose   this  truly  united, 
this  one  Holy  Church  ;    this  "one  communion  and 
fellowship  in  the  mystical  body  of  Christ  ? ''     They 
are    all    those   "blessed   saints,"  and   only  those 
"  who  unfeignedly  love  God."     Dare  any  man  take 
this  and  kindred  language  in  the  Collect,  and  limit 
it  to  a  description  of  the  visible  Church,  or  even 
to  those  exclusively  who  are  the  truly  holy  mem- 
8 


1,4  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE, 

bers  of  our  own  and  of  other  Episcopal  Churches  ? 
Let  him  attempt  so  strange  an  act,  and  our  Zion 
herself  shall  rise  up  from  her  knees,  from  the  offer- 
ing of  this  truly  catholic  prayer,  and  forbid  such 
deep  violence  on  her  words.  She  is  not  here 
describing  the  visible  Church,  nor  the  saints  under 
Episcopal  regimen  ;  she  is  teaching  us  who  compose 
the  one,  holy  communion,  the  really  united  Church 
of  Christ,  and  is  praying,  if  peradventure  they 
who  are  now  her  professed  members  may  also  be 
found  included,  at  last,  in  that  great,  that  Divine 
^'knitting  together"  of  all  God's  "elect.'' 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say,  that  the  language 
of  this  Collect  is  based  on  some  of  the  very  passages 
in  the  Bible  which  I  have  expounded,  and  contains 
a  description  of  the  Church  in  strict  harmony 
with  the  idea  which  it  has  been  my  purpose  to 
exhibit.  Had  I  explored  the  whole  English  lan- 
guage, I  could  scarcely  have  found  terms  more 
suited  to  my  purpose  than  those  here  furnished  ; 
the  precise,  luminous  teachings  of  our  Zion,  as  she 
deliberately,  yet  devoutly,  utters  her  mind  at  the 
footstool  of  the  Throne. 

2.  In  the  prayer  at  the  close  of  our  Communion 
Service,  we  thank  God  that  we,  "who  have  duly 
received  these  holy  mysteries,"  who  are  really  par- 
takers of  Christ  by  faith,  "are  also  very  members, 
incorporate  in  the  mystical  body  of  His  Son,  which 


TESTIMONY  OF  STAND ABDS.  .,15 

is  the  blessed  company  of  all  faithful  people  ;  and 
are  also  heirs,  through  hope,  of  His  everlasting 
Kingdom,  by  the  merits  of  the  most  precious  death 
and  passion  of  His  dear  Son."  And  to  this  thanks- 
giving we  add  a  petition  for  "grace  to  continue  in 
that  holy  fellowship,  and  to  do  all  such  good  works 
as  God  hath  prepared  for  us  to  walk  in." 

This  passage  expresses  precisely  the  same  idea 
with  the  former,  and  to  it  the  same  remarks  may 
be  applied.  Our  Church  is  here  uttering  her  most 
solemn  teachings,  as  well  as  her  devoutest  worship  ; 
and  in  doing  so  she  gives  a  concise,  yet  still  lu- 
minous, definition  of  the  one  and  whole  Catholic 
Church.  She  terms  it  ^'the  mystical  body  of  the 
Son"  of  God  ;  and  then,  varying  her  description, 
she  calls  it  a  "holy  fellowship."  In  this,  too,  as 
in  the  former  instance,  the  body  described  is  un- 
questionably a  Church.  The  phrase,  "mystical 
Body  of  thy  Son,"  has  the  same  meaning  with  that 
in  which  St.  Paul  says  that  God  gave  Christ  to  be 
"  Head  over  all  things  to  the  Church,  which  is  His 
Body."  The  term  Body,  as  a  metaphor  for  the 
Church,  has  an  established  meaning. 

Of  whom,  then,  according  to  the  teaching  here, 
is  this  Church  composed  ?  The  answer  may  be 
given  in  the  simple  words  of  the  prayer  itself  It 
is  composed  of  "the  blessed  company  of  all  faith- 
ful people."     These  words  are  a  comment,  in  the 


ii6  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

very  form  of  a  definition,  upon  those  which  precede, 
"The  mystical  body  of  thy  Son."  The  Church 
here  described  is  expressly  declared  to  consist  of 
"  the  blessed  company  of  all  faithful  people."  The 
style  of  this  language  belongs  to  the  age  in  which 
the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  was  set  forth.  The 
phrase,  "all  faithful  people,"  meant  then,  just  what 
we  understand  now,  by  the  words,  all  true  believers. 
A  similar  antiquity  of  style  occurs  earlier  in  the 
prayer,  where  real  partakers  of  Christ,  by  faith, 
are  said  to  be  "  very  members,  incorporated  in  His 
mystical  body."  The  meaning  is,  true  members  ; 
true,  as  opposed  to  false  or  merely  formal ;  mem- 
bers not  only  by  "the  outward  visible  sign,"  but 
also  by  "the  inward  and  spiritual  signification  ;" 
members  of  the  body  of  Christ  by  the  Spirit's  in- 
grafting. The  Church,  then,  described  in  this 
prayer,  is  composed  of  "all  true  believers,"  and 
of  such  only.  It  is  not  the  distracted,  but  "the 
blessed  company  of  all  faithful  people,"  of  all  the 
"  very  members  "  of  Christ's  "  mystical  body." 

And  how  fitting  it  is  that,  when  we  use  this 
prayer,  our  hearts  and  minds  should  be  filled  with 
this  one  truly  Catholic  thought !  Let  us  remem- 
ber that,  when  our  Church  uses  this  prayer,  she 
has  again  gone  down  upon  her  knees,  and  that  it  is 
now  amid  the  consecrated  memorials,  and  after 
gazing  by  faith  on  the  visible  symbols  of  the  bloody 


TESTIMONY  OF  STANDARDS.  1 1 7 

passion  of  Him,  who  came  into  the  world  to  ''  taste 
death  for  every  man."  She  has  gone  down  upon 
her  knees  amid  hallowed  memories  of  Gethsemane's 
bloody  sweat  and  of  Calvary's  bloodier  Cross.  And 
she  has  gone  down  upon  her  knees  to  thank  God 
for  a  Saviour  to  penitent  and  believing  sinners ! 
Remember  all  this,  and  then  tell  me,  has  she  tak- 
en that  soul-humbling  posture,  and  placed  herself 
amid  those  heart-melting  associations,  merely  to 
bless  God  for  salvation  through  an  Episcopacy,  or 
to  define  the  Church  as  limited  to  those  who  enjoy 
such  a  rich  and  long  cherished  blessing  ?  To  sup- 
pose this  were  to  do  her  unspeakable  dishonor  ;  and 
she  would  once  more  rise  up  from  her  knees,  and, 
pointing  to  the  sacrament  of  her  crucified  Lord, 
would  nobly  put  away  from  her  the  unmerited  re- 
proach. She  would  say :  "I  took  that  lowly  pos- 
ture, and  surrounded  myself  with  those  touching 
remembrancers,  the  better  to  realize  my  share  in 
the  mercies  of  Him,  who  ''suffered  for  sins,  the 
just  for  the  unjust,  that  He  might  bring  us  to  God  f 
the  better  to  realize  my  fellowship  with  patriarchs 
and  prophets,  with  apostles  and  martyrs,  and  with 
all  the  noble  company  of  saints  in  every  age,  from 
the  morning  to  the  eve  of  time  ;  the  better  to  real- 
ize my  own  privileges  in  having  contributed  many 
from  among  my  own  children  to  that  "blessed 
company  of  all  faithful  people  ;"  the  better  to  real- 


iig  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

ize  a  fitting  sympathy  with  my  once  suffering,  but 
now  rejoicing  Lord  in  every  *'  broken  spirit"  and 
in  every  "  contrite  heart,"  that  comes  to  Him,  from 
this  poor,  dying  world,  for  pardon,  peace  and  life  ; 
the  better  to  mingle  my  tuneful  song  with  that  of 
all  the  redeemed  from  every  land  and  of  every 
name, — that  *'holy  fellowship"  of  "the  saved,"  whom 
Jesus  is  gathering  out  of  time  and  preparing  to 
glorify  in  eternity !  It  was  for  all  this  that  I  knelt 
there,  as  if  at  the  foot  of  the  Cross,  and  amid  "  the 
sprinkling  of  the  blood  "of  ''  the  Lamb  that  taketh 
away  the  sin  of  the  world."  I  was  seeking  to 
identify  myself  with  the  great  ''  mystical  Body  of 
Christ "  the  living  ''  Head  ;  "  that  Body  in  which  are 
no  dead  members  ;  the  one  part  whereof  is  already 
joined  with  Him  in  heaven,  while  the  other  still 
walketh  with  His  purifying  Spirit  upon  earth." 

Such  are  the  posture  and  teaching  of  our  Church 
in  this  most  Catholic,  most  teaching  prayer ;  and 
thus  does  she  define  the  one,  unbroken  and  holy 
Church  of  her  Divine  Head !  And  who  does  not 
delight  to  see  her  in  such  an  attitude,  and  to  hear 
her  utter  such  a  teaching  ?  Who  does  not  delight 
to  see  her  thus  lowly  before  her  exalted  Lord,  and 
thus  thrilled  with  her  divine  theme  ;  thus  covering 
herself — not  with  the  Apostolic  robes  of  her  vener- 
able Episcopacy,  but — with  that  one  ampler  robe 
of  salvation  through  the  Crucified  ;  the  robe  which 


TESTIMONY  OF  STANDARDS. 


119 


is  thrown  over  the  whole  of  His  one  "  mystical 
Body/^  which  adorns  ''  the  bride,  the  Lamb's  wife," 
and  which  clothes  the  whole  sacred  "famity,"  liv- 
ing with  Him  in  holy  union  and  concord  from  the 
first  saint  that  believed  to  the  last  believer  that 
shall  be  saved  ! 

The  language,  which  has  thus  been  examined 
from  two  of  the  most  expressive  forms  of  the 
Church,  cannot  be  considered  as  defining  either  the 
visible  Church,  or  the  Church  as  limited  by  an 
Episcopacy  ;  because  the  visible  Church  contains  a 
vast  multitude  of  unconverted,  and  even  many 
most  ungodly  members  ;  while  the  Church,  as  limi- 
ted by  an  Episcopacy,  does  not  contain  all  the 
really  holy  whom  Christ  is  gathering  out  of  the 
world,  and  unto  Himself.  It  is  language  fitted  for 
nothing  else  in  the  world  but  for  a  faithful  and 
lively  description  of  that  spiritual  Church,  which 
consists  of  true  believers  only,  and  comprises  all 
true  believers,  who  ever  have  lived,  or  ever  shall 
live. 

3.  Citations  to  the  same  effect  from  our  devo- 
tional standards  may  be  multiplied.  Without  at- 
tempting this,  however,  in  detail,  I  will  merely 
group  together  a  few  of  the  many  that  might  be 
adduced. 

The  Creed,  the  Litan^',  and  the  Te  Deum  are 
among  the  most  ancient  and  accredited  of  Chris- 


I20  THE   LIVING  TEMPLE. 

tian  compositions  ;  and  they  all  breathe  the  true 
spirit  of  early  Catholicity  and  devotion,  and  savor 
strongly  of  an  age,  when  Christian  fellowship  in 
its    generous  grasp  embraced  all  who  truly  held 
the  Head,  Christ.    Thus,  the  Creed  propounds  to  us 
"  one  holy  Catholic  Church,  as  '*  the  communion  of 
saints.'^      The  Litany    prays    God  *'  to    rule    and 
govern   His   holy  Church  universal  in  the  right 
way  ;"  and  ''to  give  to  all  His  people  increase  of 
grace  to  hear  meekly  His  Word,  to  receive  it  with 
pure  affection,  and  to  bring  forth  the  fruits  of  the 
Spirit."     And  the  Te  Deum  sends  up  its  hymn  of 
praise  from  "  the  goodly  fellowship  of  the  prophets  ;" 
from  "  the  glorious  company  of  the  apostles  ;"  from 
"■  the   noble  army  of  martyrs  ;"  and  finally,  as  in- 
clusive of   the  whole  communion  of  saints,   from 
**  the  holy  Church  throughout  all  the  world,"  in  all 
its  revolving  ages.     ''  When  thou  hadst  overcome 
the  sharpness  of  death,  Thou  didst  open  the  king- 
dom of  heaven  to  all  believers  ;"  "  We  therefore 
pray  Thee,  help  thy  servants,  whom  Thou  hast  re- 
deemed with  Thy  precious  blood:"   "Make  them 
to  be  numbered  with  Thy  saints  in  glory  everlast- 
ing :"  "  Oh  Lord,  save  Thy  people  and  bless  Thine 
heritage."     Here  is  language  fitting  the  mouths  of 
those  who  worship  Christ.     Here  is  a  copious  mul- 
tiplication of  terms,  for  the  expression  of  one  single 
idea  :   "all    believers  ;"    *'  Thy  servants  y    ''  Thy 


TESTIMONY  OF  STAKDARDS.  121 

saints  ;"  ''  Thy  people  ;"  ''  Thine  heritage  ;"  terms, 
which  refuse  any  limit  to  their  meaning  short  of 
that  which  bounds  the  fruit  of  Christ's  bloodily  re- 
deeming sufferings  and  death ;  and  all  ranged 
under  the  one  broadly  comprehending  phrase, 
''The  holy  Church  throughout  all  the  world.'' 

Much  time  might  be  spent  in  amplifying  these 
concentrated,  yet  glowing  expressions  ;  in  tracing 
them  up  to  their  origin  in  the  Bible  ;  and  in  illus- 
trating their  Christ-like  Catholicism  of  comprehen- 
sion. But  it  is  needless  to  pursue  even  such  a 
pleasing  theme.  I  close,  therefore,  this  point  by 
simply  reminding  you  that,  thus  far,  I  have  been 
citing  from  the  devotional  Standards  of  our  Church. 
You  have  been  catching  the  utterances  of  her  mind, 
while  bowing  in  worship  amid  the  hosts  of  the  re- 
deemed at  the  feet  of  the  Redeemer,  and  while 
erect  in  praises  amid  the  whole  countless  band  of 
those,  who  shout,  ''  Worthy  is  the  Lamb  that  was 
slain/'  and  "hath  redeemed  us  to  God  by  His 
blood  out  of  every  kindred,  and  tongue,  and  peo- 
ple, and  nation  ;  and  hath  made  us  unto  our  God 
kings  and  priests  ;  and  we  shall  reign  on  the  earth." 
You  have,  therefore,  been  listening  to  her  in  acts 
which  lift  her  above  all  but  the  loftiest,  and  expand 
her  beyond  all  but  the  broadest  conceptions  ;  and 
which  place  her  right  by  the  side  of  Christ,  as  He 
looks,  with  divine  satisfaction,  over  the  whole  fruit 


122  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

of  His  sufferings,  over  the  whole  "  travail  of  His 
soul."  In  her  worship,  she  is  not  sectarian  but 
Christian ;  on  her  knees,  she  defines  Christ's 
Church  as  it  lives  in  Christ's  heart,  and  not  as  it  is 
bounded  by  visible  lines. 

The  testimony  of  our  standard  writers  is  reserv- 
ed for  the  next  Chapter. 


CHAPTER    V. 

TESTIMONY   OF   STANDARD   WRITERS. 

TN  the  last  Chapter,  after  noticing  some  objec- 
-^  tions  against  the  distinction  between  the  spirit- 
ual and  the  visible  Church,  and  showing  the  im- 
portance of  this  distinction  to  a  right  understanding 
of  various  points  of  Christion  doctrine,  I  proceeded 
to  demonstrate,  that  the  definition,  which  I  have 
given  of  the  Church,  as  the  whole  company  of  "  the 
saved,"  in  union  with  Christ,  the  Saviour,  His 
*'  mystical  Body,''  composed  of  "  all  faithful  people,'' 
is  sustained  by  the  devotional  standards  of  our 
communion  ; — those  venerable  forms,  in  which  our 
Church  utters  her  mind  at  the  foot  of  the  Throne, 
not  as  a  controversialist,  nor  as  a  mere  legislator 
for  her  own  government  and  discipline,  but  as  a 
member  of  that  great  band  of  worshippers,  who  pre- 
sent their  offerings  of  prayer  and  praise  to  one 
common  Father,  by  faith  in  the  one  Saviour  of  them 
ALL.  We  found  those  standards  familiar  with  the 
old  Catholic  idea  of  Christ,  as  ''  Head  over  all 
things  to  the  Church,  which^  is  His  body  j  the  ful- 

(133) 


J  24 


THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 


ness  of  Him  that  filleth  all  in  all  f  that  body, 
whose  organization  is  spiritual,  consisting  in  the 
inward  union  of  all  its  members  with  the  Head,  by 
a  live  and  life-giving  faith.  For  the  present  Chap- 
ter, I  have  reserved  the  labor  of  showing,  by  ci- 
tations from  the  Standard  writers  of  our  own  Pro- 
testant Reformation,  that,  theologically  as  well  as 
devotionally,  the  idea  of  the  Church,  which  I  have 
presented,  has  distinct  and  most  abundant  sanc- 
tion. 

These  Standard  writers  of  our  Church  flourished 
chiefly,  in  two  successive  ages  ; — that  of  the  Refor- 
mation itself,  and  that  which  followed  the  Reforma- 
tion. The  former,  in  the  Sixteenth  Century,  was 
an  age  of  much  controversy,  but  of  more  action. 
Principles  were  then  asserted  and  defended  ;  but 
the  main  labor  of  the  age  lay  in  building  up  the 
Reformed  Church  on  the  basis  of  those  principles, 
and,  with  martyr- blood,  cementing  it  in  the  true 
faith  of  Christ.  The  latter,  in  the  Seventeenth 
Century,  may  be  distinguished  as  an  age  of  much 
action,  but  of  more  controversy.  The  "  good 
fight  of  faith,"  with  all  its  blood  and  fires,  so  far  as 
the  Reformation  was  concerned,  was  ended  ;  and 
the  race  of  those  controversial  giants,  subsequently 
sprung  from  the  loins  of  the  Reformation,  came 
forth  upon  a  comparatively  quiet  field,  to  demon- 
strate, from  the  Word  of  God,  the  truth  of  those 


TESTIMONY  OF  STANDARD  WRITERS.  125 

principles,  wliicli    the    preceding  age  had  laid  in 
the  foundation  of  the  Reformed  Church. 

Upon  the  main  points,  taken  in  this  discus- 
sion the  distinction  between  the  spiritual  and 
the  visible  Church,  and  the  superior  title  of 
the  former  to  the  name  of  The  Church — the 
writers  of  both  these  ages  were  distinct  and 
full. 

I.  Writers  of  the  Sixteenth  Century,  or  age  of 
the  Eeformation. 

1.  Cranmer,  the  martyred  Archbishop,  whose 
blood  wet  the  roots  of  the  English  Reformed 
Church,  in  his  explanation  of  the  Apostles'  Creed, 
writes  thus  :  "  I  believe  the  '  holy  Catholic  Church  ;' 
that  is  to  say  :  that  there  is  ever  found  some  com- 
pany of  men,  or  some  congregation  of  good  people, 
who  believe  the  gospel  and  are  saved.  .  .  .  For 
this  word.  Church,  signifieth  a  company  of  men, 
lightened  with  the  Sj)irit  of  Christ,  who  do  receive 
the  Gospel.  .  .  .  And  this  Christian  Church  is  a 
*  communion  of  saints  ;'  that  is  to  say,  all  that  be  of 
this  communion  or  company,  be  holy,  and  be  one 
holy  body  under  Christ,  their  Head.  And  this 
congregation  reeeiveth,  of  their  Lord  and  Head,  all 
spiritual  riches  and  gifts  that  pertain  to  the  sanc- 
tification  and  making  holy  of  the  same  body.  And 
these  ^ghostly   treasures,'   or  spiritual    gifts,   'be 


126  TEE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

common  to  the  whole  body,  and  to  every  member 
of  the  same.'  "     [Catechism  of  1548.] 

*'  The  holy  Church  is  so  unknown  to  the  world, 
that  no  man  can  describe  it ;  but  God  alone,  who 
searcheth  the  hearts  of  all  men,  and  knoweth  His 
true  children  from  others.  .  .  .  This  Church  is 
'the  pillar  of  the  truth,'  because  it  resteth  on 
Grod's  Word.  .  .  .  But  as  for  the  open,  known 
Church,  and  the  outward  face  thereof,  it  is  not  '  the 
pillar  of  the  truth,'  otherwise  than  it  is,  as  it  were, 
a  register,  or  a  treasury,  to  keep  the  books  of 
God's  holy  Will  and  Testament,  and  to  rest  only 
thereupon."     [Answer  to  Dr.  Smith.] 

"  What  wonder  is  it,  then,  that  the  open  Church 
is  now,  of  late  years,  fallen  into  many  errors  and 
corruptions  ;  and  the  holy  Church  of  Christ  is 
secret  and  unknown,  seeing  that  Satan,  these  five 
hundred  years,  hath  been  let  loose,  and  Anti- 
Christ  reigneth,  spoiling  and  devouring  the  simple 
flock  of  Christ  ?"     [Answer  to  Dr.  Smith.] 

In  these  passages,  bear  in  mind,  the  martyr  is 
interpreting  the  Apostles'  Creed,  the  highest,  most 
authoritative  standard  of  our  Church.  How,  then, 
does  he  define  ''  the  holy  Catholic  Church,  the  com- 
munion of  saints  ? "  Precisely  as  I  have  defined 
the  one,  true  Church  of  Christ ;  as  the  company  of 
"the  saved,"  that  body,  of  which  Christ  is  Head, 
and  "every  member"  of  which  is  a  partaker  of 


TESTIMONY  OF  STANDARD  WRITERS.  127 

those  "gliostly  treasures,*' which  are  the  gifts  of 
the  Spirit.  This  Church,  too,  he  carefully  distin- 
guishes from  the  visible,  or,  as  he  calls  it,  "  the 
open,  known  Church  ;"  declaring  the  former  to  be, 
aud  the  latter  not  to  be,  "  the  pillar  of  the  truth. '^ 
The  great  company  of  "the  saved,"  of  those  who 
believe  in  Christ  and  are  made  holy,  in  all  ages,  is 
the  Church,  which  Cranmer  finds  in  the  Apostles' 
Creed,  the  most  ancient  of  all  Christian  Symbols. 

2.  His  brother  martyr,  the  accomplished  Eidley 
of  London,  is  in  full  accord  with  him  on  this  point. 

*' The  name.  Church/^  says  he,  ''is  taken  in 
Scripture,  sometimes,  for  the  whole  multitude  of 
them  which  profess  the  name  of  Christ ;  of  the 
which  they  are  also  named  Christians.  But,  as 
St.  Paul  saith  of  the  Jew,  "He  is  not  a  Jew,  who 
is  one  outwardly  ;  neither  yet  all  that  be  of  Israel 
are  counted  of  the  seed  ;"  even  so,  not  every  one 
which  is  a  Christian  outwardly  is  a  Christian  in- 
deed. For,  '^  if  any  man  have  not  the  Spirit  of 
Christ,  the  same  is  none  of  His."  Therefore,  that 
Church,  which  is  His  body,  of  whom  Christ  is  the 
Head,  standeth  only  of  living  stones,  and  true 
Christians,  not  only  outwardly  in  name  and  title, 
but  inwardly,  in  heart  and  truth."  [Ridley^s 
Works,  Parker  Soc.  7  Ed.  p.  126.] 

Here  is  the  same  distinction  between  the  visi- 
ble and  the  spiritual  Church.     The  Bishop  says, — 


I2g  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

not  tliat  the  professing  Christian,  while  without 
the  Spirit  of  Christ,  does  not  belong  to  the  Church, 
but — that,  the  name.  Church,  is  sometimes  given  in 
Scripture  to  the  whole  company  of  those  who  profess 
the  name  of  Christ,  though  many  of  them  are  * '  none  of 
His  :" — while  the  true  Church,  that  * 'of  which  Christ 
is  Head,  standeth  only  of  living  stones,  true  Chris- 
tians," both  "  in  name  and  title,  and  in  heart  and 
truth.'^  According  to  this  martyr,  there  is  a  sense 
in  which  the  merely  nominal  Christian  belongs  to 
the  Church  ;  while  there  is  another  sense,  in  which 
he  does  not  belong  to  the  Church.  Of  the  visible 
mixed  Church  he  is  a  member  ;  but  of  the  Church, 
as  that  spiritual,  mystical  body  of  which  Christ  is 
Head,  he  is  not  a  member.  This  Church  hath 
nothing  in  it  but  members  joined  to  Christ  by  a 
vitalizing  faith. 

3.  The  martyr.  Hooper,  bears  the  same  testi- 
mony. Explaining  the  phrase  "Holy  Catholic 
Church,"  he  says  :  "  I  believe  that  this  Church  is 
invisible  to  the  eye  of  man,  and  is  only  to  Grod 
known."  .  .  .  It  "  is  not  set,  compassed  and  limit- 
ed within  a  certain  place  or  bounds,  but  is  scattered 
and  spread  abroad  throughout  all  the  world  ;  but 
yet  coupled  together  in  heart,  will  and  spirit,  by 
the  bond  of  faith  and  charity."  .  .  .  "This  Church 
containeth  in  it  all  the  righteous  and  chosen  peo- 
ple, from  the  first  righteous  man,  unto  the  last  that 


TESTIMONY  OF  STANDARD  WRITERS.  1 29 

shall  be  found  righteous  in  the  end  of  the  world." 
.  .  .  ''As  touching  the  visible  Church,  which  is 
the  congregation  of  the  good  and  the  wicked,  of  the 
chosen  and  the  reprobate/'  .  .  .  *'  I  do  not  believe 
that  to  be  The  Church,  because  that  Church  is 
seen  of  the  eye,  and  the  faith  thereof  is  in  visible 
things."  .  .  .  The  holy  Catholic  Church  ''  is  the 
Body  of  Christ,  w^herein  there  is  never  a  corrupt, 
or  infected  member.  It  is  the  Spouse  of  Christ, 
which  is  pure  and  clean,  without  wrinkle  and  with- 
out spot  ;  it  is  holy  and  without  blame,  cleansed 
and  sanctified  in  the  blood  and  by  the  Word  of  her 
Head, of  her  well-beloved  Spouse,  Jesus  Christ," — 
[Hooper's  Works,  Yol.  II.  pp.  40,  41.  Parker  Soc.  7 
Ed.]  All  this  is  plain  testimony,  and  to  the  point. 
4.  Nowell's  Catechism  belongs  to  the  same  period, 
and  gives  the  same  teaching.  It  defines  the  Church, 
"  the  Body  of  Christ,"  to  be  "  the  universal  number 
and  fellowship  of  all  the  faithful,  whom  God, 
through  Christ,  hath,  before  all  beginning  of  time, 
appointed  to  everlasting  life."  .  .  .  And  then,  as- 
signing a  reason  why  we  are  taught  in  the  Creed, 
to  "believe  "in  this  Church,  it  says:  "Because 
this  '  communion  of  saints  '  cannot  be  perceived  by 
our  senses,  nor  by  any  natural  kind  of  knowledge 
or  force  of  understanding,  as  other  civil  com- 
munities and  fellowships  of  men  may  be,  therefore 
it  is  here  rightly  placed  among  these  things  that  lie 
9 


,30  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

in  belief."  [NowelFs  Catechism,  Parker  Soc.  7 
Ed.  pp.  172,  174.]  That  is  ;  the  visible  Church  is 
an  object  of  sight ;  the  spiritual  Church  is  an  object 
of  faith. 

5.  Becon,  also,  Cranmer's  chaplain,  explains  the 
Church  mentioned  in  the  Creed,  by  saying  that  it 
is  ''Yerily  a  company  of  saints,  or  of  holy  and 
godly-disposed  persons  knit  together  by  one  Spirit, 
in  one  faith,  in  one  hope,  in  one  love,  in  one  bap- 
tism, in  one  doctrine  ;  having  one  Head,  which  is 
Christ  Jesus,  and  serving  one  God,  which  is  the 
Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  holiness  and 
righteousness  all  the  days  of  their  life."  ..."  And 
in  this  company  or  fellowship  of  saints,  all  things 
appertaining  to  everlasting  salvation  are  com- 
mon," that  is,  enjoyed  by  each  and  every  one,  such 
'*  as  the  favor  of  God,  remission  of  sins,  quietness 
of  conscience,  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
everlasting  life."  [Becon^s  Catechism :  Works, 
Vol.  II.,  p.  43.]  This  language  cannot  be  used  as 
a  description  of  the  mixed,  visible  Church. 

But  I  must  pass  from  this  first,  to  what  may  be 
termed  the  second  age  of  the  Reformation. 

II.  Writers  of  the  Seventeenth  Century,  or  post- 
Reformation  period. 

1.  Among  the  earliest  authors  of  this  prolific 
period,  stands  Richard  Hooker,  a  name  in  every 


TESTIMONY  OF  STANDARD  WRITERS. 


131 


churchman's  mouth  ;  as  humble  and  holy  as  he 
was  learned  and  wise. 

In  his  great  work,  the  "Ecclesiastical  Polity/^ 
while  expressly  distinguishing  the  visible  from  the 
invisible  Church,  he  says  :  '*  The  Church  of  Christ, 
which  we  properly  term  His  Body  mystical,  can 
be  but  one,  neither  can  that  one  be  sensibly  dis- 
cerned by  any  man,  inasmuch  as  the  parts  thereof 
are  some  in  heaven  already  with  Christ ;  and  the 
rest  that  are  on  earth,  albeit  their  natural  persons 
be  visible,  we  do  not  discern  under  this  property, 
whereby  they  are  truly  and  infallibly  of  that  Body. 
Only  our  minds,  by  intellectual  conceit,  are  able 
to  apprehend  that  such  a  real  Body  there  is ;  a 
Body  collective,  because  it  containeth  a  huge  mul- 
titude ;  a  Body  mystical,  because  the  mystery  of 
their  conjunction  is  removed  altogether  from  sense." 
And  now,  mark  what  he  says  of  this  Church  of 
Christ.  "  Whatsoever  we  read  in  Scripture  con- 
cerning the  endless  love  and  saving  merc}^  which 
God  showeth  towards  His  Church,  the  only  proper 
subject  thereof  is  this  Church  ;'^  this  Body  mysti- 
cal, part  whereof  is  in  Heaven  already  with  Christ, 
while  the  other  part  is  still  on  earth,  being  truly 
and  infallibly  of  that  Body,  though  the  mystery 
of  their  conjunction  with  it  is  removed  altogether 
from  sense.  ''  Concerning  this  flock  it  is,  that  our 
Lord  and  Saviour  hath  promised:   "I  give  unto 


132  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

them  eternal  life,  and  they  shall  never  perish  ; 
neither  shall  any  pluck  them  out  of  my  hands." 
To  this  mystical  Church,  he  says,  "  belong  the 
everlasting  promises  of  love,  mercy  and  blessed- 
ness." ..."  Unto  that  Church,  which  is  His  mys- 
tical Body,"  it  is  "not  possible"  that  wicked  or 
merely  formal  members  "  should  belong  ;"  "  be- 
cause that  Body  consisteth  of  none  but  only  true 
Israelites,  true  sons  of  Abraham,  true  servants 
and  saints  of  God."  [Eccl.  Pol.,  B.  m.,  Sec.  1, 
pp.  269-272.     Lond.,  1825.] 

Again,  in  his  first  sermon  on  the  Epistle  of  Jude, 
he  says  :  "  The  multitude  of  them  which  truly 
believe,  howsoever  they  be  dispersed  far  and  wide, 
each  from  other,  is  all  One  Body,  whereof  the 
Head  is  Christ ;  One  Building,  whereof  He  is 
Corner-Stone  ;  in  whom  they,  as  the  members  of 
the  Body,  being  knit,  and,  as  the  stones  of  the 
Building,  being  coupled,  grow  up  to  a  man  of  per- 
fect stature,  and  rise  to  an  holy  Temple  in  the 
Lord.  That  which  linketh  Christ  to  us,  is  His 
mere  love  and  mercy  towards  us.  That  which 
tieth  us  to  Him,  is  our  faith  in  the  promised  sal- 
vation revealed  in  the  Word  of  Truth.  That 
which  uniteth  and  joineth  us  among  ourselves  in 
such  sort  that  we  are  now  as  if  we  had  but  one 
heart  and  one  soul,  is  our  love."  [Serm.  I.  on  St. 
Jude,  Sec.  11.] 


TESTIMONY  OF  STANDARD  WRITERS.  133 

To  these  beautiful  conceptions  and  just  delinea- 
tions of  the  true  Church  of  Christ — and  Hooker 
abounds  in  such — I  have,  nothing  to  add,  except 
that  every  word  falls  in,  in  perfect  accord,  with 
the  view  which  I  have  already  so  largely  illus- 
trated from  the  Bible  and  from  our  devotional 
standards.  Hooker,  one  of  the  greatest  divines  of 
England,  unquestionably  held  this  view  of  the  One 
Holy  Catholic  Church. 

2.  Perkins,  also,  another  of  that  great  army  of 
reformed  divines  in  the  Seventeenth  Century, 
speaks  thus  :  ''  This  Union  to  Christ  maketh  the 
Church  to  be  the  Church  ;  and  by  it  the  members 
thereof,  whether  they  be  in  Heaven  or  in  earth, 
are  distinguished  from  all  other  companies  whatso- 
ever." [Perkins'  Works,  Yol.  I,  p.  277.]  He 
calls  ""  the  Catholic  Church  militant,"  ''  The  num- 
ber of  believers  dispersed  through  the  world,  who 
are  effectually  called,  and  sanctified  and  preserved 
unto  life  everlasting."  Of  "  two  sorts  of  men, 
professing  religion,"  one  of  whom  ''  do  unfeignedly 
believe  and  are  sanctified,"  while  the  other  only 
"  make  show  of  faith  but  believe  not ;"  he  says  : 
''  Of  the  former  doth  the  Catholic  Church  consist 
and  not  of  the  latter."  These  "  are  no  members 
set  into  the  Head  of  this  Body,  though  they  may 
seem  to  be."  ''  This  Catholic  Church  is  invisible, 
and  cannot  by  the  eye  of  sense  be  discerned."     It 


134  ^^^  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

"  caDiiot  utterly  perisli  and  be  dissolved.  All 
other  congregations  and  particular  churches,  being 
mixed,  may  fail  ;  yet  this  cannot  be  overcome." 
"  To  this  assembly,  and  no  other,  belong  all  the 
promises  of  this  life  and  the  life  to  come.  It  is 
the  ground  and  pillar  of  the  truth  ;  that  is,  the 
doctrine  of  true  religion  is  always  safely  kept  and 
maintained  in  it."  [Perkins'  Works,  Vol.  III., 
pp.  482-504.]  These  passages  clearly  develop 
the  idea  of  the  Church  which  I  have  presented, 
and  the  distinction  between  it  and  the  visible 
mixed  Church  :  and  they  also  show  that  to  the 
spiritual  Church  alone  are  the  promises  made,  and 
that  in  it  alone  is  the  true  indefectibility  found. 

3.  The  following,  from  Bishop  Hall  shows  that, 
in  the  same  Church  resides  that  divine  unity  on 
which  Christ  so  earnestly  insists.  "  If  from  par- 
ticular visible  churches  you  shall  turn  your  eyes  to 
the  true,  inward,  universal  company  of  God's  elect 
and  secret  ones,  there  shall  you  see  more  perfectly 
the  One  Dove  ;  for  what  the  other  is  in  profession 
this  is  in  truth  ;  that  one  baptism  is  here  the  true 
laver  of  regeneration  ;  that  one  faith  is  a  saving 
reposal  upon  Christ  ;  that  one  Lord  is  '  the  Sa- 
viour of  His  Body.'  No  natural  body  is  more 
ONE  than  this  mystical  ;  one  Head  rules  it ;  one 
Spirit  animates  it ;  one  set  of  joints  moves  it  j  one 
food  nourishes  it ;  one  robe  covers  it.     So  is  it 


TESTIMONY  OF  STANDARD  WRITERS,  135 

oi^E  in  itself,  so  one  with  Christ,  as  Christ  is  One 
with  the  Father."  [Sermon  on  the  Beauty  and 
Unity  of  the  Church.]  "  The  whole  Church  is  the 
Spiritual  Temple  of  God.  Every  believer  is  a 
living  stone  laid  in  those  sacred  walls.  There 
is  no  place  for  any  loose  stone  in  God's  edifice  ; 
the  whole  Church  is  one  entire  Body."  [Treatise 
on  Christ  Mystical,  Ch.  viii..  Sec.  2.] 

4.  Bishop  Jeremy  Taylor  also,  that,  perhaps, 
most  affluent  of  Christian  orators,  is  full  of  the 
doctrine  which   I   have   unfolded.     In  his  '  Dis- 
suasive  from   Popery,'   he   writes   thus  :    ''  They 
who  are  indeed  holy  and  obedient  to  Christ's  laws 
of  faith  and  manners,  these  are  truly  and  perfectly 
the  Church  ;  ...  the  Church  of  God  in  the  eyes 
and  heart  of  God.     For  the  Church  of  God  are 
the  Body  of  Christ  ;  but  the  mere  profession  of 
Christianity  makes  no  man  a  member  of  Christ ; 
nothing  but  a  new  creature,  nothing  but  a  ''  faith 
working  by  love,"  and  keeping  the  commandments 
of  God.  .  .  .  Hypocrites  are  not  Christ's  servants, 
and,  therefore,  not  Christ's  members,  and,  there- 
fore, no  part  of  the  Church  of  God  ;  but  improp- 
erly and  equivocally,  as  a  dead  man  is  a  man  ;  all 
which  is  perfectly  summed  up  in  these  words  of 
St.  Augustine,  saying  that  '  the  Body  of  Christ  is 
not  {Upartitnm,  it  is  not,)  a  double  Body  ;  all  that 
are  Christ's  body  shall  reign  with  Him  forever/ 


136  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

If  by  a  Church  we  mean  that  Society  which  is 
really  joined  to  Christ,  which  hath  received  the 
Holy  Ghost,  which  is  heir  of  the  promises  and  of 
the  good  things  of  God,  which  is  the  Body  of 
which  Christ  is  the  Head  ;  then  the  invisible  part 
of  the  visible  Church  ;  that  is,  the  true  servants 
of  Christ  are  the  Church  ;  ...  to  them  only  ap- 
pertain the  Spirit  and  the  truth,  the  promises  and 
the  graces,  the  privileges  and  advantages  of  the 
Gospel.  .  .  .  The  faithful  only  and  obedient  are 
beloved  of  God.  Others  may  believe  rightly,  but 
so  do  the  devils,  who  are  no  parts  of  the  Church  ; 
.  .  .  and  it  will  be  a  strange  proposition  which 
affirms  any  one  to  be  of  the  Church,  for  no  other 
reason  but  such  as  qualifies  the  Devil  to  be  so." 
'  Those  who  are  condemned  by  Christ  (continues 
St.  Augustine)  for  their  evil  and  polluted  con- 
sciences, are  not  of  Christ's  Body,  which  is  the 
Church ;  for  Christ  hath  no  damned  members.' 
Although,  when  we  speak  of  all  the  acts  and  duties, 
of  the  judgments  and  nomenclatures,  of  outward 
appearances  and  accounts  of  law,  we  call  the  mixed 
society  by  the  name  of  the  Church  ;  yet,  when  we 
consider  it  in  the  true,  proper  and  primary  mean- 
ing, all  the  promises  of  God,  the  Spirit  of  God,  the 
life  of  God,  and  all  the  good  things  of  God,  are 
peculiar  to  the  Church  of  God  in  God's  sense,  in 
the  way  in  which  He  owns  it  j  that  is,  as  it  is  holy,^ 


TESTIMONY  OF  STANDARD  WRITERS.  137 

united  to  Christ,  like  to  Him,  and  partaker  of  the 
Divine  nature.  The  other  are  but  a  heap  of  men 
keeping  good  company,  and  calling  themselves  by 
a  good  name  ;  managing  the  external  parts  of 
union  and  ministry  ;  but,  because  they  otherwise 
belong  not  to  God,  the  promises  no  otherwise  belong 
to  them  but  as  they  may,  and  when  they  do,  return 
to  God.  Here,  then,  are  two  senses  of  the  word 
Church  ;  God's  sense  and  man's  sense  ;  the  sense 
of  religion  and  the  sense  of  government ;  common 
rites  and  spiritual  union.''  [Diss,  from  Pop.,  Part 
IL,  B.  I.,  Sect.  1,  §§  1,  2.] 

What  Bp.  Taylor  intends  by  these  distinctions  is 
manifest.  In  '^  God's  sense,"  the  Church  is  the 
great  company  of  the  saved  ;  in  ''  man's  sense,"  it 
is  the  aggregate  of  those  who  profess  the  Saviour. 
In  "the  sense  of  religion,"  it  is  the  Church  as  seen 
by  the  spiritually  enlightened  religious  eye ;  in 
"  the  sense  of  government,"  it  is  the  Church  as  seen 
by  the  legally  discerning  governmental  eye.  In 
"■  common  rites,"  it  is  the  Church  as  bound  together 
in  the  communion  of  outward  forms  and  ceremonies  ; 
in  ''spiritual  union,"  it  is  the  Church,  as  knit 
together  in  the  inward  fellowship  of  Christ's  mys- 
tical body.  Much  more  from  the  same  exuberant 
author,  and  to  the  same  effect,  might  be  cited  ;  but 
I  must  liasten  to  draw  somewhat  from  other  stores. 

5.  Archbishop  Usher,  one  of  the  great  lights  of 


138  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

his  age,  in  his  "Body  of  Divinity,"  puts  this  ques- 
tion :  ''  What  is  meant  by  the  Catholic  Church  ?  " 
And  his  answer  is  :  "  The  whole,  universal  company 
of  the  elect,  that  ever  were,  are,  or  shall  be,  gath- 
ered together  in  one  body,  knit  together  in  one 
faith,  under  one  Head,  Jesus  Christ.  For  God,  in 
all  places,  and  of  all  sorts  of  men,  had  from  the 
beginning,  hath  dow,  and  ever  will  have,  an  holy 
Church,  which  is  therefore  called  the  Catholic 
Church — that  is,  God's  whole  or  universal  assem- 
bly— because  it  comprehendeth  the  multitude  of  all 
those  that  have,  do,  or  shall  believe  unto  the 
world's  end." 

In  the  same  work  he  asks  again  :  ""  Who  are  the 
true  members  of  the  Church  militant  on  earth  ? " 
And  his  answer  is  :  "Those  alone,  who,  as  living 
members  of  the  mystical  body,  are,  by  the  Spirit 
and  faith,  secretly  and  inseparably  conjoined  unto 
Christ,  their  Head  ;  in  which  respect  the  true  mil- 
itant Church  is  both  invincible  and  invisible." 
[Bod.  Div.,  187,  189.] 

"The  communion  of  saints,"  says  he  [in  his  Ser- 
mon before  the  House  of  Commons],  "consists  in 
the  union,  which  we  all  have  with  one  Head.  For 
Christ,  our  Head,  is  the  main  foundation  of  this 
heavenly  union." 

It  is  needless  to  point  out  the  exact  coincidence 
of  all  this  with  what  I  have  already  stated.     Usher 


TESTIMONY  OF  STANDARD  WRITERS.  139 

belongs  to  the  grand  Protestant  host,  who  make 
the  Church  of  God  to  consist  of  every  true  believer, 
who  is  gathered  into  Christ  and  saved,  from  the 
beginning  to  the  end  of  time. 

6.  In  the  same  ranks,  and  eminent  among  the 
eminent,  must  be  cited  Dr.  Thomas  Jackson.  In 
his  "  Treatise  of  the  Church,"  which  is  '*  true,  holy 
and  Catholic,"  he  says  :  ''  This  Church  is  a  true  and 
real  body,  consisting  of  many  parts,  all  really, 
though  mystically  and  spiritually,  united  unto  one 
Head  ; — and,  by  their  real  union  with  one  Head, 
are  all  truly  and  really  united  amongst  themselves. 
.  .  .  That  this  Church  is  a  true  Body,  the  Apostle 
hath  left  registered  :  "  I  rejoice  in  my  sufferings  for 
you,  and  fill  up  that  which  is  behind  of  the  afflic- 
tion of  Christ  in  my  flesh,  for  His  Body's  sake, 
which  is  the  Church."  Every  one,  then,  is  so  far  a 
member  of  Christ's  Church,  as  he  is  a  member  of 
Christ's  Body.  He  that  is  not,  in  some  sense,  a 
member  of  Christ's  Body,  can  be,  in  no  sort,  a  mem- 
ber of  His  Church.  He  that  is  a  true,  live  member 
of  one,  is  a  true,  live  member  of  the  other.  He  that 
is  but  an  equivocal,  analogical,  hypocritical,  or 
painted  member  of  the  one,  is  but  an  equivocal, 
analogical,  hypocritical,  or  painted  member  of  the 
other."  [Treat,  on  the  Holy  Cath.  Faith  and  Ch., 
pp.  18,  19.  Phila.  1844.] 
Arguing  from  a  passage  in  the  Epistle  to  the 


140  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

Ephesians,  which  I  have  already  explained,  he 
says  :  "  Every  member  of  the  Church,  or  of  Christ's 
Body,  is  more  near,  or  dear,  unto  Him  than  our 
flesh  is  unto  us,  and  more  His  own  than  our  flesh  is 
ours."     [Treat,  etc.  p.  21.] 

Again,  expressing  himself  in  the  strict  form  of  a 
definition,  he  says  :  "  The  Catholic  Church,  in  the 
prime  sense,  consists  only  of  such  as  are  actual  and 
indissoluble  members  of  Christ's  mystical  body  ;  or 
of  such  as  have  the  Catholic  faith  not  only  sown  in 
their  brains,  or  understandings,  but  thoroughly 
rooted  in  their  hearts."     [Treat,  etc.,  p.  152.] 

Again,  "  As  He  [Christ]  is  the  true  Temple, 
because  the  God-head  dwelleth  in  Him  ;  so  all  they, 
and  only  they,  in  whom  He  dwelleth  by  faith,  are 
true  temples  of  God  and  live  members  of  the  Cath- 
olic Church."  [Works,  vol.  xii.  p.  21.]  ''This 
Church  is  not  termed  holy,  a  majori  'parte,  from 
the  greater  part  only ;  every  member  of  it  is 
inherently  holy."     [Works,  vol.  12,  p.  26.] 

And  again,  "  If  the  Ark,  which  Noah  built,  did 
save  all  such  from  the  deluge  as  entered  into  it, 
how  much  more  shall  that  hoh^  and  Catholic 
Church,  which  Christ  hath  built  and  sanctified  by 
His  most  precious  blood,  give  eternal  life  to  all 
such  as,  in  this  world,  become  live  members  of  it ! 
Such  members  they  are  made,  not  by  external 
baptism,  or  by  becoming  members  of  the  visible 


TESTIMONY  OF  STANDARD  WRITERS,  141 

Church,  but  by  iuternal  grace,  or  sauctification.'' 
[Works,  vol.  xii.  p.  88.] 

7.  With  this  teaching  agrees  that  of  the  great 
Dr.  Barrow,  the  champion  of  England  against  the 
Papal  supremacy.     In  his  Discourse  on  the  Unity 
of  the  Church,  he  says :  *'  The  invisible  or  spiritual 
Church  is  '  the  whole  body  of  God's  people,  that  is, 
ever  hath  been,  or  ever  shall  be,  from  the  beginning 
of  the  world  to  the  consummation  thereof,  who  hav- 
ing believed  in  Christ,  and  sincerely  obeyed  God's 
laws,  shall  finally,  by  the  meritorious  performances 
and  sufferings  of  Christ,  be  saved."  .  .  .  "  To  this 
invisible  Church,  composed  only  of  such  as  shall 
finally  be  saved,  belong  all  the  glorious  titles  and 
excellent  privileges,  attributed  to  the  Church  in 
Holy  Scripture.     This  is  '  the  body  of  Christ,'  the 
'Spouse  of  Christ,'  'the House  of  God  built  on  a 
rock,  against  which  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  pre- 
vail,' '  the  elect  generation.'  This  is  that  one  Body, 
into  which  we  are  all  baptized  by  one  Spirit ;  the 
members  whereof  do  hold  a  mutual  sympathy  and 
complacence  ;  which  is  joined  to  one  Head,  deriving 
sense  and  motion  from  it  ;  which  is  enlivened  and 
moved  by  one  Spirit.  ...  To  this  Church  belongs 
peculiarly  that  unity,  which  is  so  often  attributed 
to  the  Church.  .  .  .  This  is  the  society,  for  whom 
Christ  did  pray  '  that  they  all  might  be  one.'  .  .  . 
All  Christians  are  united  by  spiritual  cognation  and 


142  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE, 

alliance,  as  being  all  regenerated  by  the  same  cor- 
ruptible seed  ;  being  alike  born,  not  of  blood,  nor 
of  the  will  of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man,  but 
of  God  ;  whence,  as  the  sons  of  God  and  brethren 
of  Christ,  they  become  brethren  to  one  another. 
...  The  whole  Christian  Church  is  one  by  its  in- 
corporation into  the  mystical  body  of  Christ,  or  as 
fellow  subjects  of  that  spiritual,  heavenly  kingdom, 
whereof  Christ  is  the  sovereign  Head  and  Governor; 
whence  they  are  governed  by  the  same  laws,  oblig- 
ed by  the  same  institutions  and  functions,  partake 
of  the  same  privileges,  are  entitled  to  the  same  pro- 
mises, and  encouraged  by  the  same  rewards.  So 
they  make  but  one  spiritual  corporation,  or  repub- 
lic, whereof  Christ  is  the  sovereign  Lord."  [Works, 
Oxford  Ed.  Yol.  YI.  pp.  497-499,  and  p.  597.] 

8.  And,  without  further  addition  to  this  catalogue 
of  witnesses,  the  "  incomparable  pen  "  of  Bp.  San- 
derson gives  this  as  the  first  and  most  important  of 
four  senses  in  which  the  word,  Church,  is  used : 
"  The  whole  company  of  God's  elect,  actually  made 
members  of  Christ  by  virtue  of  an  inward,  effectual 
calling  to  faith  and  godliness.  This  we  commonly 
call  the  invisible  Church,  or  the  Church  of  God's 
elect."  [Disc,  on  Yisibility  of  the  true  Church. 
Hooker's  Col.  p.  213.     Phila.  1844.] 

Such  are  a  few  of  the  many  citations  which  might 
be  made  from  that  noble  company  of  great  Chris- 


TESTIMONY  OF  STANDARD  WRITERS.  143 

tians  and  great  Divines,  who  adorned  the  two  prin- 
cipal periods  of  our  English  Protestaat  Eeforma- 
tion.  They  have  made  the  present  Chapter  mono- 
tonous, in  that  they  are  but  so  many  repetitions  of 
one  simple  truth,  or  cluster  of  truths.  Neverthe- 
less, these  truths  are  of  sufficient  importance  to 
justify  the  attention  which  they  have  received, 
and  to  relieve  the  discussion  of  tediousness  with  all 
candid  weighers  of  evidence.  I  have  not  thought 
best  often  to  interrupt  the  testimony  by  prolonged 
comments  of  my  own  ;  and  I  now  leave  them  just 
as  they  stand,  to  tell  their  own  story  and  to  give 
in  their  own  witness.  I  need  to  say  no  more  than 
this :  they  touch  sustainingly  every  point  which  I 
have  made  in  my  argument ;  and  in  such  a  way  as 
to  show  that  the  ages  to  which  they  belong  were 
exceedingly  familiar  with  the  views  which  they 
exhibit ;  and  that  they  were  considered  as  present- 
ing cardinal  points  in  the  pure  Protestant  faith, 
which  was  then  established  and  defended  as  well 
with  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  as  with  the  pen  of 

scholars. 

The   Seventeenth   Century  doubtless  witnessed 

the  maintenance  of  different  views  of  the  Church  in 

England  ;  but  they  were  mostly  the  views  of  what 

have  been  termed  the  ''  Non-jurors  ;"  a  name  given 

to  those,  who,  as  adherents  of  the  deposed  and  Popish 

James  II.,  could  not  honestly  take  the  oath  of  alleg- 


144  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

iance  to  his  Protestant  successors  on  the  throne, 
William  and  Mary ;  views,  therefore,  suspected 
in  their  very  source,  and  weighing  nothing  with 
scripturally  enlightened  Protestants  against  those 
of  Cranmer  and  Eidley,  Hooper  and  Nowell,  Hook- 
er and  Perkins,  Hall  and  Taylor,  Usher  and  Jack- 
son, Barrow  and  Sanderson  ;  to  say  nothing  of  the 
multitude  of  others,  true  and  loyal  children  of  the 
Eeformation,  who  marched  by  their  side,  or  fol- 
lowed in  their  train. 

In  making  this  appeal  to  concurrent  testimony, 
however,  let  me  not  be  misunderstood.  It  is,  in- 
deed, pleasant  to  fmd  one's  self  in  company  which 
one  likes.  Nevertheless,  the  Christian  teacher, 
provided  he  be  sure  of  having  Christ  and  His  Word 
on  his  side,  might  well  be  content  to  march  alone, 
with  never  so  great  a  number  of  combatants  array- 
ed against  him.  I  have  made  the  foregoing 
citations,  not  because  they  are  the  infallible 
authorities  on  which  the  argument  for  the 
Church,  in  her  highest  character,  is  founded,  but 
because  they  are  credible,  or  trustworthy  witness- 
es to  show  that  this  argument  is  no  novelty  ;  that  I 
have  not  been  broaching  new  and  rash  speculations 
of  my  own  ;  but  that  I  have  been  moving  in  the 
track  of  a  multitude  of  the  soundest  and  holiest 
minds  of  the  soundest  and  purest  Churches  of 
Christendom.     There  are  those,  who  make  tradi- 


TESTIMONY  OF  STANDARD  WBITERS.  145 

tion  an  infallible  authority  in  matters  of  faith  and 
doctrine,  and  who  hold  this  authority  to  be  a  neces- 
sary interpreter  of  the  Word  of  the  living  God. 
They  set  up  this  tradition  as  an  infallible  judge  on 
the  theological  bench,  and  bow  to  its  oracular  de- 
cisions with  implicit  faith.  Not  such,  however,  is 
the  rank  which  we  have  been  taught  to  assign  to 
this  speaker.  We  place  it,  not  as  judge  on  the 
bench,  but  as  evidence  on  the  witness's  stand  ;  and 
we  receive  its  statements  so  far  only  as  they  are 
harmonious  with  the  only  infallible  rule  of  faith  and 
doctrine,  the  everlasting  Word  of  truth. 

Take  this  Word,  then,  to  which  our  appeal  has 
been  made,  and  study  it  thoroughly.  Take,  also, 
the  witnesses  who  have  been  called,  and  question 
them  carefully.  And  then  say,  do  these  witnesses 
speak  according  to  that  Word  in  the  matter  of 
which  they  have  been  called  to  testify  ?  If  so, 
give  them  your  credence,  not  because  they  can  add 
anything  of  certainty  to  that  Word,  but  because 
they  are  the  unimpeached  sons  of  that  Church,  to 
which,  as  Episcopalians,  we  belong,  and  because 
they  speak  according  ""  to  the  law  and  the  testi- 
mony,'' which  the  Holy  Spirit  hath  penned,  and 
which  secure  to  us  the  priceless  heritage  of  the  one 
true  Saviour  of  *'all  faithful  people," — of  all  holy 
believers. 


10 


PART    II. 


THE  CHURCH,  AS  A  VISIBLE  BODY. 


THE    CHUECH,   AS  A  VISIBLE    BODY. 


CHAPTER     I. 

SCRIPTURE   VIEW   OF   THE   VISIBLE   CHURCH. 

npO  the  Church,  as,  in  its  largest,  highest  sense, 
-■-  One  and  Catholic,  we  have  already  directed 
our  attention  at  considerable  length.  On  the 
authority  of  the  Bible,  with  the  accordant  testimony 
of  our  own  standards,  and  of  the  standard  writers 
of  our  own  Protestant  Reformation,  we  have  seen 
it,  in  this  sense,  composed  of  "  all  faithful  people, '' 
or  true  believers  ;  of  all  who,  by  a  living  faith, 
"  hold  the  Head  "  of  the  Body,  which  is  Christ ;  and 
who,  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  are,  in  that  faith  sancti- 
fied and  saved.  This  is  "the  Church  of  the  first- 
born which  are  written  in  heaven  "  even  while  so- 
journing on  earth  ;  and  which,  in  the  present  life, 
do  "  come  to  God,  the  Judge  of  all,  and  to  the 
spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect,  and  to  Jesus  the 
mediator  of  the  new  covenant,  and  to  the  blood  of 
sprinkling  which  speaketh  better  things  than  that 
of  Abel.''  To  this  Church,  made  up  of  saints  alive, 
and  of  the  "  spirits  of  the  just  made  perfect,"  whose 
mediator  and   high   priest  is   Christ,  and  whose 

(149) 


,50  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

cleansing  is  in  the  precious  blood  of  sprinkling,  all 
true  believers  ''come"  the  moment  they  are  true 
believers  ;  they  wait  not  for  membership  in  this 
Church,  but  enter  now  into  its  holy  oneness,  its 
heavenly  communion,  its  divine  Catholicism.  This 
is  the  Church,  in  what  I  have  termed  its  true,  spir- 
itual character  ;  or,  what  the  old  writers  call  "  the 
invisible  Church,"  because  the  bonji  of  membership, 
which  unites  the  believer  to  Christ,  is  invisible. 

But,  I  have  already  said,  there  is  a  sense,  in 
which  the  Church  is  visible  ;  and  I  now  add,  there 
is  a  sense,  in  which  this  visible  Church  is  Catholic : 
and  the  question,  upon  which,  in  this  Chapter,  I 
propose  to  enter,  is  this :  What  is  this  visibly 
Catholic  Church  ?  What  and  whom  does  it  com- 
prehend ?  The  Comprehension  of  this  Visible 
Church  is  the  theme  now  before  us. 

I  am  well  aware  of  the  difficulties  with  which 
this  part  of  the  subject  is  beset,  and  of  the  repug- 
nance, which,  in  certain  quarters,  is  felt  to  the  view 
which  I  am  about  to  present.  Still,  as  I  am  con- 
strained to  regard  this  view  as  resting  on  the  true 
sense  of  Scripture,  and  as  being  supported  by  the 
testimony  of  our  own  standards  and  standard  wri- 
ters, I  shall  present  it  with  a  consciousness  of  fidel- 
ity to  the  vows  which  bind  me  to  our  own  Church  ; 
and  hope,  ere  I  close,  to  satisfy  all  who  will  read 
with  candor  and  with  patience,  if  not  of  the  de- 


THE  VISIBLE  CHURCH.  151 

monstrable  certainty  of  my  positions,  at  least  of 
their  credible  claim  to  the  character  of  sound 
Protestant  Episcopacy. 

I  begin  by  distinctly  acknowledging,  that  the 
view  which  we  take  of  what  is  essential  to  the 
being  of  the  Church,  in  its  spiritual  Catholicism, 
must  be  expected  to  govern  the  view  which  we 
take  of  what  is  meant  by  the  comprehension  of 
the  Church  in  its  visible  Catholicism.  In  other 
words,  the  view  which  we  take  of  the  Church  as 
the  Body  of  "  the  saved,"  in  spiritual  union  with 
Christ  the  Saviour,  naturally  determines  the  view 
which  we  take  of  the  Church  as  a  visible  organiza- 
tion of  those  who  profess  to  believe  in  Christ. 

All  Christians,  then,  hold  undoubtingly,  that 
there  are  such  realities  as  the  gift  of  the  Spirit, 
union  with  Christ,  and  the  pardon  of  sin.  These 
realities  make  up  the  infinitely  rich  legacy  of  God 
to  man  in  and  through  Christ  Jesus.  Without 
them  there  can  be  neither  Church  nor  Christianity. 
The  Church  spiritual  is  composed  exclusively  of 
those  who  enjoy  this  legacy  as  the  earnest  of  their 
full  salvation.  The  Church  visible  is  organized 
for  the  better  activity,  and  as  an  ordinary  means 
of  increasing  the  number  of  those  for  whom  this 
legacy  is  reserved.  The  difference  among  Chris- 
tians lies,  not  in  admitting  or  denying  this  divine 
verity,  but  in  settling  the  question  how  it  is  to  be 


152  THE    LIVING  TEMPLE. 

realized  or  received,  by  the  disciples  of  Christ ; 
that  is,  not  whether  God  ever  saves  a  soul  with- 
out any  outward  means,  but  what  are  the  ordinary 
way  and  means  in  and  by  which  He  saves  ?  To 
recur,  then,  to  the  second  and  third  definitions  of 
the  Church,  which  I  gave  at  the  opening  of  this 
discussion ;  if,  on  the  one  hand,  we  hold  that  an 
Episcopally  constituted  ministry  is  essential  to  the 
very  being  of  the  Church,  indispensably  necessary 
as  a  "  ministerial  intervention  "  between  God  and 
man,  for  the  communication  or  conveyance  of  the 
gift  of  the  Spirit,  union  with  Christ,  and  the  pardon 
of  sin,  then  it  will  necessarily  follow  that  the  Church, 
as  visibly  Catholic,  can  comprehend  none  but  those 
who  are  in  subjection  to  an  Episcopal  ministry ; 
because,  on  this  supposition,  through  this  ministry 
alone  the  gifts  requisite  to  salvation  are  to  be 
sought  and  realized  ;  and  because,  without  these 
gifts,  there  will  be  no  members  of  Christ  to  be 
organized  into  a  visible  Church.  On  this  theory, 
the  visible  Church  and  the  Episcopally  organized 
Body  are  identical,  mutually  bounding  each  other, 
and  excluding  all  besides.  But  if,  on  the  other 
hand,  we  hold  that  the  gift  of  the  Spirit,  union 
with  Christ,  and  the  pardon  of  sin,  are  direct 
bestowments  from  God  upon  the  individual  soul, 
received  by  faith  in  Christ,  without  any  other 
necessary  intervention  than  that  of  the  Spirit  and 


THE  VISIBLE  CHURCH. 


153 


Divinely  inspired  Truth  heard,  read,  or  preached, 
then  it  will  follow  that  the  Church,  as  visibly 
Catholic,  comprehends  all  those  professing  Chris- 
tians throughout  the  world,  under  whatever  form 
of  ministry  organized,  among  whom  the  Gospel  is 
truly  held,  Christ  truly  confessed,  and  His  sacra- 
ments really  administered,  and  to  whom  Grod 
vouchsafes  the  gift  of  the  Spirit,  union  with  Christ, 
and  the  pardon  of  sin.  All  such  Christian  organi- 
zations will  belong  to  the  visible  Church  Catholic, 
not  because  all  their  visible  members  are  partakers 
of  these  unspeakable  benefits,  but  because,  among 
them  there  may  be  partakers  of  these  benefits  to 
be  embodied  in  outward,  visible  organization.  The 
real  partakers  of  these  benefits,  as  we  have  seen, 
constitute  the  one  spiritual  Church  by  virtue  of  their 
living  union  with  Christ  by  faith,  through  the  Spirit. 
The  Church,  in  this  sense,  is  nothing  else  than  the 
whole  Body  of  members,  thus  spiritually  united 
with  their  Divine  Head.  Wherever,  then,  these 
members  are  embodied  in  an  outward,  visible 
organization,  with  a  true  confession  of  Christ,  a 
true  profession  of  His  Gospel,  and  a  common 
union  in  His  sacraments,  there,  according  to  this 
view,  will  be  a  portion  of  the  visible  Church 
Catholic.  The  main  difference  between  the  true 
spiritual  Church  Catholic,  and  the  Catholic  Church 
visible  or  organized,  consists  in  this,  that  the  former 


154 


THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 


is  the  Church,  as  God  sees  it,  running  through  all 
time  into  great  eternity ;  while  the  latter  is  the 
Church,  as  man  sees  it,  bounded  by  that  little 
span  of  time  to  which  he  belongs.  The  organiza- 
tion of  the  visible  Church  is  certainly  a  Divine 
provision  or  arrangement,  designed  to  promote 
the  best  welfare,  and  the  growing  multiplication 
of  spiritually  live  members  of  Christ ;  but,  from 
its  very  nature  the  application  of  that  provision  to 
the  nature  of  man  and  to  human  society,  results 
in  this  difference  between  the  spiritual  Church  and 
the  Church  as  made  visible  among  men,  that  the 
former  hath  none  but  true  and  living  members, 
while  the  latter  may  have,  and  generally  has, 
many  false  and  dead  members. 

Which,  then,  of  the  two  views  thus  re-intro- 
duced, are  we  to  adopt  ?  To  which  do  the  Bible 
and  our  own  standards  bear  their  testimony  ?  For 
myself  I  am  prepared  to  answer,  that  they  lead, 
and  decidedly,  to  the  adoj^tion  of  the  latter. 

1.  As  bearing  on  this  point,  I  think  it  quite  sig- 
nificant, and,  therefore,  invite  careful  attention  to 
the  remark,  that,  when  the  Bible  speaks  of  what 
is  evidently  the  true  and  holy  Church  universal, 
"  the  Communion  of  saints,"  in  which  there  are  no 
unholy  members,  it  speaks  of  this  Church  as  one, 
without  reference  to  times,  places,  or  outward  pecu- 
liarities, and  in  the  most  universal  and  unqualified 


THE  VISIBLE  CHURCH.  155 

terms,  as  all  holy  and  all  in  Christ ;  but,  when 
it  speaks  of  the  Church  as  a  visible  organization,  it 
often  speaks  of  this  as  many,  as  bounded  by  times 
and  places,  and  as  subject  to  all  the  diversities, 
mutations,  and  imperfections,  which  grow  out  of 
man's  mixed  and  sinful  state.  Let  me  illustrate 
both  parts  of  this  remark. 

The  texts  which  I  have  examined  in  the  former 
part  of  this  Treatise,  will  show  what  I  mean  by 
the  former  part  of  this  remark.  In  those  passages, 
the  Bible  speaks  of  the  Church  as  the  "one  fold 
under  one  Shepherd  ;'^  "  the  whole  family  which  is 
named  in  heaven  and  earth  ;"  the  ''  one  body  "  of 
Christ ;  "the  Bride,  the  Lamb's  wife  ;"  the  "  holy 
Temple  in  the  Lord,"  into  which  all,  who  are 
builded  upon  Christ  by  faith,  do  "grow."  This  is 
what  Christ  calls  "  My  Church,"  against  which  "  the 
gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail ;"  the  Church,  to 
which  "the  Lord  daily  added  the  saved;"  the 
"  Church  which  is  His  body,  the  fullness  of  Him 
that  filleth  all  in  all;"  "the  Church  in  Christ 
Jesus  "  in  which  Grod  is  to  be  glorified  "  through- 
out all  ages  ;"  "  the  Church  which  Christ  loved," 
and  for  which  He  "gave  Himself;"  "the  Church 
of  the  living  God,  the  pillar  and  ground  of  the 
truth  ;"  the  Church,  whose  members  are  all  Christ's 
"brethren;"  "the  general  assembly  and  Church 
of  the  first-born,  which  are  written  in  heaven."   All 


156 


THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 


this  language,  it  will  be  remembered,  is  not  only 
thus  absolute,  and  perfectly  unrestricted  to  time, 
place  and  outward  peculiarity,  but  constantly  in- 
termingled with  the  ascription,  to  all  the  members 
of  the  Church  in  this  sense,  of  life,  and  growth,  and 
holiness,  and  the  certain  inheritance  of  eternal 
glory. 

And  what  I  mean  by  the  latter  part  of  the  re- 
mark will  be  seen  by  simply  collecting  together 
a  few  of  the  very  numerous  passages,  in  which  the 
Church,  as  visible  and  organized,  is  mentioned. 
They  will  bring  before  us  a  very  different  view. 
Take  the  following  specimens  : 

''  So  ordain  I  in  all  the  Churches."  ''  Then  had 
the  Churches  rest  throughout  all  Judea."  "  If  any 
man  seem  to  be  contentious,  we  have  no  such  cus- 
tom, neither  the  Churches  of  God."  "Let  your 
women  keep  silence  in  the  Churches."  "As  I  have 
given  order  to  the  Churches  of  Galatia."  "  The 
Churches  of  Asia  salute  you."  "  Chosen  of  the 
Churches  to  travel  with  us."  "  Messengers  of  the 
Churches."  "  That  which  cometh  upon  me  daily, 
the  care  of  all  the  Churches."  "  John  to  the  seven 
Churches  which  are  in  Asia."  "There  was  a 
great  persecution  against  the  Church  which  was  at 
Jerusalem."  "  When  they  had  ordained  them  eld- 
ers in  every  Church."  "  The  Church  at  Babylon, 
elected  together  with  you,  saluteth  you."  "  I  wrote 


THE  VISIBLE  CHURCH,  157 

unto  the  Church  ;  but  Diotrephes,  who  loveth  to 
have  the  preeminence  among  them,  receiveth  us 
not."  "The  Church  that  was  at  Antioch."  "If, 
then,  ye  have  judgments  of  things  pertaining  to  this 
life,  set  them  to  judge  who  are  least  esteemed  in 
the  Church.  I  speak  to  jour  shame."  "  Cause 
that  it  (this  epistle)  be  read  in  the  Church  of  the 
Laodiceans."  "In  eating,  every  one  taketh  before 
other  his  own  supper  ;  and  one  is  hungry  and  an- 
other is  drunken.  What !  Have  ye  not  houses  to 
eat  and  to  drink  in  ?  Or  despise  ye  the  Church 
of  God,  and  shame  them  that  have  not?"  "Unto 
the  Angel  of  the  Church  in  Sardis  write  :....! 
know  thy  works,  that  thou  hast  a  name  that  thou 
livest,  and  art  dead."  And  "Unto  the  Angel  of 
the  Church  of  the  Laodiceans  write  : . . .  I  know  thy 
works,  that  thou  art  neither  cold  nor  hot.  I  would 
thou  wert  cold  or  hot.  So  then,  because  thou  art 
lukewarm,  and  neither  cold  nor  hot,  I  will  spew  thee 
out  of  my  mouth."  [1  Cor.  7  :  17  ;  Acts  9  :  31  ; 
1  Cor.  11  :  16  ;  14  :  34  ;  16  :  1  ;  16  :  19  ;  2  Cor.  8  : 
19,  23  ;  11 :  28  ;  Rev.  1:4;  Acts  8  :  1  ;  14  :  23  ; 
1  Pet.  5  :  13  ;  3  John,  ver.  9  ;  Acts  13  :  1  ;  1  Cor. 
6  :  4,  5  ;  Col.  4  :  16  ;  1  Cor.  11  :  21,  22  ;  Eev.  3  : 
1  ;  3  :  14-16. 

Now,  in  reading  these,  (and  a  multitude  of  sim- 
ilar passages  might  be  cited,)  the  exclamation 
instinctively  rises :    in  what  a  very  different  at- 


158  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

mosphere  do  we  find  ourselves  from  tliat  which 
surrounded  us  while  reading  those  before  quoted  ! 
There,  all  was  absolute,  universal,  unqualified,  in 
the  language  used.  Here,  all  this  is  dropped  ;  and 
the  language  used  becomes  conditioned,  limited, 
particular.  There,  we  were  evidently  in  the 
Church  as  it  exists  in  Christ  ;  all  calm,  peaceful, 
holv,  and  full  of  the  likeness  and  the  foretastes  of 
"heaven.  Here,  we  are  unmistakably  in  the  Church, 
as  it  exists  in  the  World,  full  of  mixture  and  of 
conflict ;  an  impure  and  imperfect,  an  unresting  and 
disordered,  a  changing  and  suffering  body.  There, 
we  were  in  the  Church  as  as  one,  without  a  shadow 
of  multiplicity.  Here,  we  are  in  the  Church  as 
MANY,  with  manifold  shades  of  diversity  upon  it. 
Here,  in  short,  we  find  this  multiform  Church 
sometimes  at  rest,  at  others  in  persecution  ;  bound- 
ed by  times  and  places  ;  modified  by  custom  and 
order  ;  choosing  and  sending  messengers  ;  writing 
and  reading,  sending  and  receiving  epistles  ;  or- 
daining elders ;  doing  things  as  mixed  human 
bodies  are  wont  to  do  ;  and,  withal,  affected  by  the 
doing  of  them  too  much  as  such  bodies  usually  are 
affected  ;  having  judgments,  or  proceedings  at  law, 
about  the  things  of  this  life  ;  troubled  with  ambi- 
tions and  contentions  ;  abusing  sacred  rites  to  pur- 
poses of  gluttony  and  drunkenness  ;  having,  some- 
times, a  name  to  live  though  really  dead  ;  frequently 


THE  VISIBLE  CHURCH.  159 

engaged  in  things  beautiful  and  commendable,  but 
not  always  clear  of  things  for  which  they  were  to 
be  shamed,  and  on  account  of  which  Christ  put 
them  loathingly  away  from  Himself ! 

All  this,  indeed,  does  not  show  us  what  the 
Church,  as  visibly  Catholic,  comprehends  ;  but  it 
does  show  us  how  very  different  a  thing  it  is  from 
the  Church,  as  spiritually  Catliolic,  ''  the  communion 
of  saints,''  one  and  holy  in  Christ  Jesus  ;  and  it 
gives  us  a  starting-point  in  our  inquiries,  and  shows 
us  what,  in  various  respects,  we  are  to  look  for  in 
the  Church  as  visibly  Catholic  ;  that  we  may  expect 
to  find  it  existing  in  many  places  under  separate, 
independent  organizations,  divided  and  corrupted, 
exposed  in  parts  to  extinguishment,  and  even  liable 
to  be  utterly  rejected  of  God. 

2.  Let  us  now  look  at  another  set  of  passages, 
and  see  whether  we  can  gather  any  further  light 
on  the  subject  of  our  present  inquiry.  I  refer  to 
passages  which  speak  of  the  Church  as  a  "  King- 
dom.'' These  passages  are  numerous,  and  present 
the  Church,  apparently,  both  as  a  mixed  body  and 
as  pure.  I  select  two,  which  seem  to  present  it  in 
the  former  character. 

In  Matt.  13  :  47,  48,  Christ  compares  ''  the  king- 
dom  of  heaven"  to  "  a  net,  cast  into  the  sea,  and 
gathering  of  qn^yj  kind  ;  which,  when  it  was  full, 
they  drew  to  the  shore,  .  .  and  gathered  the  good 


i6o  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

into  vessels,  but  cast  the  bad  away."  For  the  word 
"  kingdom/'  in  this  passage,  we  may  substitute  the 
word  "  Church."  The  Church,  then,  is  here  liken- 
ed unto  a  net,  cast  into  the  sea  ;  and  this  net  is 
evidently  the  visible  Church  Catholic,  the  king- 
dom organized  under  outward  ministry,  worship, 
and  sacraments.  The  sea,  into  which  this  Church- 
net  is  cast,  is  this  human  world,  bounded  by  the 
shores  of  time.  The  "every  kind,"  gathered  by 
this  net,  are  the  countless  multitudes,  of  all  names, 
characters  and  conditions,  the  precious  and  the  vile, 
which  the  visible  Church  gathers  within  its  wide- 
sweeping  organizations  ;  and  "  the  shore  "  to  which 
the  net  is  drawn  for  the  grand,  separating  process, 
is  the  limit,  at  which  this  world's  time  is  bordered 
by  eternity,  and  casts  up  its  millions  to  the  judg- 
ment— showing,  at  last,  of  what  a  strangely  mixed 
multitude  the  Church  on  earth  has  consisted,  and 
how  different  it  is,  as  standing  before  the  eye  of 
man,  from  what  it  is  as  it  lives  **  in  the  eyes  and 
heart  of  God," — to  use  Jeremy  Taylor's  strong 
figure. 

Again,  in  the  same  chapter,  Matt.  13  :  24-30, 
Christ  compares  "  the  kingdom  of  heaven  "  to  "  a 
man,  that  sowed  good  seed  in  his  field  ;"  adding, 
"but  while  men  slept,  his  enemy  came  and  sowed 
tares  among  the  wheat,  and  went  his  way."  The 
wheat  and  the  tares  sprang  up  and  grew  confusedly 


THE  VISIBLE  CHURCH,  i6i 

together  until  the  harvest  ;  but  (hen  iho^  reapers 
gathered  the  tares  into  bundles  for  the  burning, 
but  the  wheat  into  the  master's  barn. 

In  sense,  this  passage  is  evidently  identical  with 
that  just  explained  ;  though  in  dress,  it  is  different. 
The  kingdom  is  likened  unto  *'  a  man  who  sow.  d 
good  seed  in  his  field;"  but  whose  enemy,  ''  wdiile  men 
slept,  came  and  sowed  tares  among  the  wheat.'' 
The  explanation  given.  Matt.  13  :  37-43,  shows 
that  the  sower  is  "  the  Son  of  man,"  the  Lord 
Jesus  ;  that  the  field  is  *'  the  world,"  the  lost  race 
of  men  ;  that  the  good  seed  are  *'  the  children  of 
the  kingdom,"  the  saved  members  of  Christ ;  that 
the  "tares  are  the  children  of  the  wicked  one, "the 
sinful,  unsaved  among  them  ;  that  the  enemy  is 
''the  Devil,"  the  adversary  of  God  and  man  ;  that 
the  harvest  is  "  the  end  of  the  world,"  the  day 
when  our  race  is  to  be  judged  :  that  the  reapers  are 
"the  angels,"  ministers,  executive  of  the  decision 
of  the  Great  Judge  ;  and  that  the  ensuing  process  is 
the  result  of  the  Judgment,  the  separation  of  the 
unsaved  from  the  saved,  and  the  assignment  to 
each  of  their  fearfully  distinct  lot  in  the  age  of 
ages. 

From  this  explanation  it  is  manifest  that,  in  sow- 
ing none  but  "  good  seed,"  the  desire  of  the  Divine 
Sower  is  to  gather  from  the  world,  and  preserve 
in  it  none  but  a  pure  Church,  and  that  the  reason 
11 


i52  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

why  His  Church  in  this  life  is  not  pure  is,  that 
through  the  drowsiness  of  His  watchmen  the  ene- 
my gets  opportunity  to  sow  tares  among  the  wheat. 
In  other  words,  the  spiritual  discernment  of  the 
watchmen  of  the  Church  was  not  long  to  retain 
the  character  of  that  early  miraculous  gift,  the 
"  discerning  of  spirits ;"  and  that,  under  the  ordi- 
nary dispensation  of  the  Christian  economy,  this 
discernment  is  neither  so  penetrating  nor  so  wake- 
ful as  always  to  detect  the  difference  between  true 
and  false  members  of  Christ.  The  purpose  of  the 
Adversary,  therefore,  succeeds,  and  the  Church 
becomes  mixed  with  lifeless  members,  hypocrites, 
formalists  and  self-deceived ;  members  **  having 
a  name  to  live  while  they  are  dead."  The  visible 
Church  is  found  to  be  a  very  different  Body  from 
that  which  its  Divine  Head  desires  to  collect  and 
preserve.  The  purposes  of  this  Divine  Head  are 
not  frustrated,  but  His  desires  fail  in  this  life  of 
their  full  realization.  "  The  children  of  the  king- 
dom "  are  gathered  into  the  Church,  but  through 
the  infirmity  of  our  nature,  the  abuses  of  society, 
and  the  activity  of  the  Adversary,  others  are  gath- 
ered with  them  who  are  not  partakers  with  them, 
and  the  Church  of  "  the  saved  "  waits  a  future  life 
for  its  full,  perfect  and  separate  development. 

Upon  both  of  these  parables,  then,   I  remark  : 
they  plainly  teach  that  the  visible  Church  Catholic, 


THE  VISIBLE  CHURCH. 


163 


in   its  true  comprehension,   must   include    all,  of 
every   name   and   character,   whom   the   outward 
agencies  of  the  Christian  Dispensation  gather  out 
of  the  great  sea  of  time,  and  out  of  the  wide  field 
of  the  world,  into  an  outward  profession  of  the 
Christian   faith.      As   visible,    the    Church    is    a 
strangely  mixed  and  multitudinous  Body.     These 
parables  require  us  to  comprehend  in  it  the  whole 
mighty  mass  surnamed  of  Christ,  and  living  in  a 
profession  of  His  Gospel  and  under  the  regulation 
of  His  institutes,  from  side  to  side  of  the  earth, 
^nd  from  end  to  end  of  time.     These  parables 
permit  us  to  leave  out  none  among  whom  the  real 
"  children  of  the  kingdom  "  are  thus  visibly  pro- 
fessed and  organized. 

3.  We  shall  bring  the  subject  into  fuller  light  if 
we  look  a  moment  at  the  definition  which  makes 
Episcopacy   essential   to   the   very  being  of    the 
Church.     This  definition  rests  on  the  theory  that 
this  Episcopacy  is  "  a  necessary  ministerial  interven- 
tion" between  God  and  man  for  the  conveyance  of  the 
gift  of  the  Spirit,  union  with  Christ,  and  the  pardon 
of  sin.     The  thoroughly  unscriptural  character  of 
this  theory  is  settled  by  this  one  consideration : 
that  it  virtually  puts  two  mediators  between  God 
and  His  creatures,  while  the  Bible  puts  but  one. 
The  Bible  says,  ''  There  is  one  God  and  one  Me- 
diator between  God    and   men,   the   man  Christ 


164 


THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 


Jesus,"  (1  Tim.  2  :  5,)  and  when  it  says  "  there 
is  one  Mediator  between  Grod  and  men,"  it  means 
that  there  is  but  one  ;  just  as  when  it  says, 
''There  is  one  God,"  it  means  that  there  is  but 
one.  Against  this  text  we  may  as  well  contend 
that  there  are,  in  any  sense,  two  Gods,  as  say  that 
there  are,  in  any  sense,  two  Mediators.  But  this 
the  theory  in  question  does  practically  say  :  First, 
it  puts  between  men  and  God  the  one  Mediator, 
Christ  Jesus,  and  then  it  puts  between  men  and 
Christ  Jesus  its  second  Mediator,  the  Priesthood 
of  the  Church,  as  a  necessary  intervention,  with- 
out which  there  is  no  authorized  way  for  the  con- 
veyance of  the  gift  of  the  Spirit,  union  with  Christ, 
and  the  pardon  of  sin.  It  does  not  call  the  indi- 
vidual who  officiates  in  this  Priesthood,  a  mediator 
in  the  full  sense  in  which  Christ  is  the  Mediator  ; 
but  it  does  consider  this  Priesthood  itself  as  a 
Mediation,  offering,  for  the  purpose  of  conveying, 
the  same  sacrifice  with  Christ,  and  constituting  the 
only  authorized  way  of  dispensing  the  inestimable 
blessings  which  that  sacrifice  has  purchased.  If 
the  theory  admit  that  these  blessings  are  ever 
received  without  this  secondary  mediation,  it  still 
holds  that,  without  this  secondary  mediation,  men 
have  no  right  to  look  for  those  blessings  ;  that,  to 
such  those  blessings  come,  not  by  covenant,  but 
without  covenant ;  that  they  are,  in  fact,  "  uncove- 


THE  VISIBLE  CHURCH.  165 

nanted  mercies,"  such  as  possibly  the  heathen  may 
experience. 

This  is,  probably,  one  of  the  most  unscriptural, 
as  it  is  certainly  one  of  the  most  dangerous  tenots, 
ever  held.     The  Bible  everywhere  confutes  it,  and 
history  everywhere  shows  its  perilousness.     We 
might  spend  hours  in  showing  how  the  Bible  con- 
tinually holds  up  Christ  alone  as  the  only  ''Days- 
man "  between  God  and  His  sinful  creatures,  that 
needs  to  "  lay  His  hand  upon  both  ;"  how  it  as 
continually   invites    every   poor,   distressed,   and 
broken-hearted  sinner,  to  come  immediately  and 
directly  to  this  Christ,  whether  in  the  recesses  of 
the  heart,  in  the  stillness  of  the  closet,  or  in  the 
solitude  of  the  desert  ;  and  how  it  calls  every  man 
to  bow  his  head,  by  faith,  beneath  the  one  pardon- 
ing and  Spirit-giving  hand,  which  this  true  Media- 
tor opens  and  stretches  man-ward,  while  with  the 
other  He  reaches  and  touches  Grod-ward  ;  so  that 
thus,  the  really  connecting  links  being  joined,  life 
and  all  the  communicable  fullness  of  the  Infinite 
Father,    through   the   life-giving,    mediating   Son, 
may  descend  and  abide  upon  His  repenting  and 
believing  child  ;  they  alone,  with  none  and  nothing 
between  them !    And,  having  shown  all  this  from  the 
Bible,  we  might  then  go  on,  and  spend  other  hours 
in  showing  how  history  repeatedly  and  warningly 
reveals  the  perilousness  of  interposing  a  mediat- 


,66  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

ing  priesthood  between  the  sinner  and  the  Saviour, 
as  a  necessary,  or  as  the  only  authorized,  channel 
for  the  conveyance  of  spiritual  gifts  ;  how  this 
awfully  arrogated  power  has  been  most  awfully 
abused,  and  how,  in  the  hands  of  such  a  being  as 
man,  it  can  never  fail  to  be  abused  to  the  worst  of 
purposes.  We  might  go  into  all  the  details  of  this 
large  branch  of  the  subject,  but  it  is  not  neces- 
sary ;  a  glance  at  it  is  enough.  Both  the  Bible 
and  history  are  against  this  theory.  This  theory 
erects,  as  necessary  to  the  being  of  the  Church, 
an  intervention  which  the  Bible  does  not  necessi- 
tate, and  against  which  history  is  a  Heaven-re- 
corded warning ;  an  intervention  which,  in  the 
prerogatives  claimed  for  it,  the  Bible  sweeps  clean 
away ;  and  of  which,  for  the  evils  wrought  by  it, 
history  will  yet  write  the  Heaven-inflicted  extinc- 
tion. The  visible  Church  Catholic  cannot  be 
bounded  by  this  theory.  All  that  is  necessary 
to  give  being  to  the  Church, — the  gift  of  the  Spirit, 
union  with  Christ,  and  the  pardon  of  sin, — may  be 
obtained,  is  obtained,  without  any  such  interven- 
tion as  this  theory  supposes.  Wherever  profess- 
ing Christians,  holding  the  true  Word  and  Grospel 
of  Christ,  and  organized  under  a  visible  ministry 
and  sacraments  in  avowed  obedience  to  Christ  its 
only  Head,  are  foand,  there  a  portion  of  the  visi- 
ble Church  Catholic   is  present,   though  it  be  a 


TEE  VISIBLE  GHURCH.  ,67 

mixed  society,  existing  under  disadvantages  more 
or  less  serious,  and  with  the  loss  of  some  things 
in  which  the  well-being  of  the  Church  might  rea- 
sonably rejoice.  In  a  word,  and  in  its  full  com- 
prehension, the  visible  Church  Catholic  may  be  thus 
defined  :  The  whole  company  on  earth  of  those 
who  profess  faith  in  Christ,  maintain  the  preach- 
ing of  His  Gospel,  are  united  by  the  common  bond 
of  His  sacraments,  and  are  infected  with  no  heresy 
subversive  of  the  Christian  faith. 

The  mercy  of  a  Saviour,  the  mission  of  the  Spirit, 
and  the  message  of  the  Word  have  been  given  for 
the  great  end  of  saving  the  souls  of  men  from  sin 
and  eternal  death.  These  infinite  gifts,  through  a 
growingly  full  and  distinct  revelation,  have  been 
operating  in  the  world  from  the  earliest  ages  ;  and 
the  whole  sum  of  their  effects,  in  any  age,  the 
whole  company  of  the  saved  and  of  those  who  pro- 
fess the  faith  that  saves,  when  outwardly  embodied 
under  necessary  forms,  constitutes  the  visible 
Church  Catholic  of  that  age.  This  Church  is  that 
whole  company,  existing  at  any  particular  time, 
under  the  forms  necessary  to  their  outward  mani- 
festation ;  and  these  forms  are,  the  profession  of 
the  true  faith,  the  preaching  of  the  true  Word,  and 
a  common  union  in  the  sacraments,  which  Christ 
Himself  hath  ordained.  These  are  the  things  in 
which  their  visibility,  as  a  Church,  consists.   Their 


,68  THE  LlVma  TEMPLE. 

persons  may  be  made  visible  by  flesh  and  blood  ; 
but  their  Church-character  cannot  be  made  visible 
without  these  necessary  forms.  It  must  be  borne 
in  mind,  however,  that,  under  this  its  outward  or- 
ganization, the  Church  is  no  longer  the  one  pure 
and  holy  Church  of  Christ,  such  as  He  desires  it  to 
be, — but  the  whole  congregation  of  outward  pro- 
fessors of  Christ,  mixed,  imperfect,  and  more  or 
less  defiled  with  error,  worldliness  and  sin.  It  is 
the  ''  net,"  filled  with  "  every  kind,"  "  the  good  and 
the  bad  :" — the  *'  kingdom,"  in  a  field  thick  sown 
and  growing  both  with  "  wheat"  and  with  "tares." 
From  all  this  it  follows,  that  no  one  visible  or- 
ganization can,  by  itself,  and  to  the  exclusion  of 
others,  be  called  the  Church,  the  Catholic  Church. 
The  Church  of  Rome  is  not  the  Catholic  Church  ; 
nor  is  that  of  Greece,  or  that  of  England,  or  all 
these  together,  the  Catholic  Church.  This  term,  as 
we  now  seek  its  comprehension,  covers  the  whole 
visible  company  of  Christ's  professed  followers  on 
earth,  so  far  as  they  hold  and  proclaim  the  true 
faith,  and  are  united  by  the  common  bond  of 
Christ's  sacraments.  The  very  signification  of  the 
word.  Catholic,  points  to  this  comprehension  of  the 
visible  Church,  and  to  nothing  narrower.  "  Catho- 
lic "  means,  "  the  whole,"  not  any  part  or  parts, — • 
"  Universal,"  not  particular, — and  it  is  an  unwar- 
rantable assumption  in  any  one  organization,  or  in 


THE  VISIBLE  GHUBGH.  i6g 

any  number  of  members,  short  of  "  the  whole,"  to 
call  itself,  or  themselves,  '  The  Catholic  Church." 
This  comprehends  the  whole,  the  universal,  com- 
pany of  Christ's  professed  followers,  who  hold  to 
Him  as  Head,  to  His  truth,  in  the  main  uncorrupt, 
and  to  His  sacraments,  in  all  things  necessary  to 
their  being. 

This,  we  think,  is  the  doctrine  of  our  Nineteenth 
Article,  when  rightly  understood.  That  article  de- 
fines "the  visible  Church"  as  "  a  congregation  of 
faithfal  men  in  which  the  pure  Word  of  God  is 
preached,  and  the  sacraments  be  duly  administered 
according  to  Christ's  ordinance,  in  all  things  that 
of  necessity  are  requisite  to  the  same."  The  only 
difticulty  in  understanding  the  definition  lies  in  the 
word,  "  FAITHFUL."  It  is  the  "  visible  Church  "  that 
is  defined  ;  and  yet  it  is  defined  as  "  a  congregation 
of  FAITHFUL  men  ;"  which,  in  the  language  of  the  old 
writers,  means,  "  a  congregation  of  true  believers.'' 
And  if  the  definition  ended  here,  it  vfould  evident- 
ly make  the  visible  Church  identical  with  the 
Church  of  "  the  saved."  But  the  definition  does  not 
end  here.  It  goes  on  to  say  :  that  this  is  a  congre- 
gation, "  in  which  the  pure  Word  of  Grod  is  preach- 
ed, and  the  sacraments  be  duly  administered  ac- 
cording to  Christ's  ordinance,  in  all  things  that  of 
necessity  are  requisite  to  the  same."  And  these, 
it  will  be  remembered,  are  the  very  things  in  which 


,7o  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE, 

the  visibility  of  the  Church,  as  a  Church,  consists. 
The  article,  then,  must  I  think,  be  explained  thus  : 
**The  Church,"  in  the  desire  of  her  Divine  Head,  is 
"a  congregation  of  true  believers  ;"  but  when  or- 
ganized and  made  visible  under  ministry  and  sac- 
raments, then,  through  the  infirmity  of  our  nature 
and  of  human  society,  and  through  the  evil  activity 
of  the  Adversary,  it  becomes,  as  we  see  it,  mixed, 
imperfect,  and  defiled  with  more  or  less  serious 
errors  ;  the  "  bad  "  with  the  "  good/^  the  '*  tares  " 
with  the  *'  wheat."  The  visible  Church  of  any  age 
has  in  it  all  "  the  faithful  men"  of  that  age  ;  and  it 
ought  to  have  none  other  ;  but,  through  human  im- 
perfection in  preaching  the  Word  and  applying  the 
sacraments, — an  imperfection  intensified  by  the  in- 
sidious malice  of  the  devil, —  it  contains  many 
others,  who  belong  to  it  in  its  outward  organiza- 
tion, while  inwardly  they  are  none  of  Christ's. 

Some,  indeed,  would  avoid  the  difficulty  in  this 
Nineteenth  Article  by  explaining  the  phrase,  "  visi- 
ble Church,"  as  identical  with  that  of  the  ''commun- 
ion of  saints  "  in  the  Creed  ;  holding  that  all  the 
members  even  of  the  visible  Church  are  really  re- 
generate and  sanctified  followers  of  Christ.  But  to 
sustain  this  view  they  are  forced  to  hold  another,  viz : 
that  impenitent,  unconverted,  and  ungodly  persons, 
though  baptized  and  partakers  of  '*  the  outward  and 
visible  sign "  in  the  Lord's  supper,  are  yet,  in  no 


THE  VISIBLE  CHURCH.  171 

sense,  members  even  of  "the  visible  Church."  This 
Church,  they  contend,  is  "  a  congregation"  of  exclu- 
sively ''  faithful  men  ;" — in  the  sense  of  the  article, 
godly  believers. 

This  explanation,  however,  is  opposed  to  the 
sense  of  our  great  Protestant  divines.  Even  the 
citations,  formerl}^  made  from  these  divines,  though 
made  for  another  purpose,  show,  nevertheless,  that 
they  considered  baptized  communicants,  though 
impenitent  and  ungodly,  yet  as  really  members  of 
the  visible  Church  ;  not,  indeed,  of  the  Church  "  in 
Grod's  sense,'^ — to  use  Bishop  Taylor's  language, — 
but,  of  the  Church  "in  man's  sense."  That  there 
is  a  sense,  in  which  these  spiritually  dead  mem- 
bers do  not  belong  to  the  Church,  is  very  true.  It 
is  equally  true,  however,  that  there  is  another 
sense  in  which  they  do  belong  to  the  Church,  at 
least  until  cut  ofip  by  discipline.  And  this  sense, 
according  to  the  writers  just  referred  to,  is  that  of 
the  Church  visible. 

Moreover,  the  explanation  in  question  is  evi- 
dently inconsistent  with  the  teaching  of  Christ 
himself  in  His  figure  of  "  the  Yine  and  the  branch- 
es." "I  am  the  vine,"  says  He,  "ye  are  the 
branches."  John  15:  5.  "Every  branch  in  mo 
that  beareth  not  fruit,  He  taketh  away."  John  15  : 
1.  In  this  language  Christ  and  the  Vine  are  evi- 
dently a  figure  of  the  Church.     And  the  teaching 


,72  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

of  the  language  can  be  nothing  less  than  this  ;  that 
there  is  a  sense,  in  which  there  are  lifeless  mem- 
bers of  this  Church  ;  dead  branches  on  that  Yine ; 
whose  doom  is — if  they  become  not  living  and  fruit- 
bearing — to  be  cut  off  and  cast  away.  And  this 
sense,  again,  can  be  none  other  than  that  of  the 
visible  Church.  It  is  important  to  add,  that  this 
brings  the  teaching  from  the  metaphor  of  the  Vine 
and  its  branches  into  harmony  with  that  already 
found  in  the  parables  of  the  "net  east  into  the 
sea,''  and  "  the  tares  of  the  field." 

1  see  no  good  reason,  therefore,  for  giving  up 
the  ordinary  acceptation  of  the  phrase,  ''visible 
Church ;"  understanding  by  it,  the  whole  mixed 
company  in  all  the  world  of  those  who  profess  the 
faith  of  Christ,  and  maintain  the  preaching  of  His 
Gospel  and  the  administration  of  His  sacraments, 
in  all  things  necessary  to  the  same. 

That  our  Nineteenth  Article  intends  to  give  the 
visible  Church  this  comprehension  is  evident  from 
the  fact,  that  it  says  nothing  of  what  constitutes  the 
essence  of  the  ministry,  or  of  what  is  necessary  to 
"  the  due  administration  of  the  sacraments  accord- 
ing to  Christ's  ordinance."  It  leaves  both  these 
points  at  large  and  undetermined  j  and  I  suppose 
it  is  hazarding  nothing  to  say,  that  it  would  be  im- 
possible to  bring  our  Church  up  to  the  point  of 
decreeing,  through  her  authoritative  councils,  that 


THE  VISIBLE  CHURCH.  173 

there  can  be  no  Christian  ministry  at  all,  other 
than  that  Episcopally  conLitituted  ;  and  no  Christian 
sacraments  at  all,  other  than  those  Episcopally  ad- 
ministered. Such  a  decision  she  has  never,  in  any 
way,  promulged.  Such  a  sentence  she  can  never 
be  made  authoritatively  to  pass.  She  proclaims 
herself  a  true  Church,  and  leaves  others  to  the 
liberty  of  proclaiming  the  same  for  themselves,  and, 
if  they  can,  of  proving  what  they  proclaim. 


CHAPTER    II. 

OUR    STANDARDS    AND    STANDARD    WRITERS     ON    THE 
VISIBLE    CHURCH. 

THE  Christiiin  Faith  is  exactly  compreliensive  of 
the  Christian  Church.  The  former  is  the  true 
boundary  of  the  latter.  When  this  faith,  true  and 
sound,  is  received  into  the  heart,  and  produces  a 
living  and  holy  union  with  Christ,  it  constitutes  a 
member  of  the  true,  spiritual  Church  Catholic. 
And  when  this  faith,  in  the  main  whole  and  uncor- 
rupt,  is  received  into  the  understanding,  and  carried 
out  into  profession  under  appropriate  and  necessary 
forms,  it  constitutes  a  member  of  the  real  visible 
Church  Catholic.  And  thus,  in  both  senses,  the 
Christian  faith  is  the  only  true  comprehension  of 
the  Christian  Church.  This  faith,  or  the  substance 
of  what  Christ  requires  to  be  believed,  is  the  all- 
essential  thing  in  this  inquiry.  A  renunciation  of 
this  faith  is,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  a  renunci- 
ation of  the  Church.  Hence,  near  the  close  of  the 
last  Chapter,  in  defining  the  Church,  in  its  external 
Catholicism,  it  was  said  to  comprehend  the  whole 

(174) 


THE  VISIBLE  CHURCH.  ,75 

visible  company  on  earth,  of  those  who  profess  the 
faith  in  Christ,  maintain  \\iq  preaching  of  His  Gospel, 
are  united  by  the  common  bond  of  sacraments,  and 
are  infected  with  no  heresy  subversive  of  the  Chris- 
tian faith.  This  last  mark  was  added  because  a 
heresy,  which  subverts  the  Christian  faith,  may 
well  be  regarded  as  effecting  a  severance  from  the 
Christian  Church.  In  the  days  of  the  Apostles,  we 
learn  from  Acts,  16  :  5,  that  "The  Churches  were 
established  in  the  faith.''  A  subversion  of  the  faith 
is  the  opposite  to  establishment  in  the  faith.  It  is, 
so  far  as  it  extends,  a  subversion  of  the  Church 
itself.  For  the  same  reason,  a  corruption  of  the 
faith,  if  it  amount  not  to  its  subversion,  is  but  a 
corruption  of  the  Church.  It  amounts  not  to  its 
subversion.  Save  the  substance  of  the  faith,  in  its 
outward  profession,  and  you  save  the  substance  of 
the  Church,  in  its  visible  Catholicism. 

This,  as  I  have  already  remarked,  is  the  view  of 
the  visible  Church,  so  far  as  we  can  trace  it,  in  the 
teachings  of  the  Bible.  I  add,  this  is  the  view, 
taken  by  our  own  standards  and  standard  writers  : 
a  remark,  to  the  illustration  of  which  I  now  invite 
attention. 

I.    OUR   STANDARDS. 

1.   In  looking  at  our  standards,  then,  we  may  re- 
fer again,  though  at  the  risk  of  a  little  repetition,  to 


176  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

our  XTXth  Article.  It  defines  "  the  visible  Church'^ 
to  be,  as  to  its  essence,  ''  a  congregation  of  faithful 
men  ; "  and  then,  as  to  its  visibility,  a  congregation 
"  in  which  the  pure  Word  of  God  is  preached,  and 
the  sacraments  be  duly  administered  according  to 
Christ's  ordinance,  in  all  those  things  that,  of 
necessity,  are  requisite  to  the  same."  Wherever 
the  great  "  congregation "  exists  in  profession, 
under  the  preaching  of  the  true  Gospel,  and  a  due 
administration  of  the  sacraments  in  all  things  neces- 
sary thereto,  there,  according  to  this  article,  "the 
visible  Church  of  Christ "  exists.  What  is  neces- 
sary to  the  due  administration  of  the  sacraments  the 
article,  indeed,  does  not  decide.  Individual  writers 
may  be  found,  in  sufficient  numbers,  and  living 
men,  in  numbers  more  sufficient  still,  who  strenu- 
ously contend  that,  to  the  very  essenca  of  the  sac- 
raments, an  Episcopal  ministry  is  necessary  ;  so 
that,  without  this  ministry,  there  can  be  no  such 
thing  as  a  Christian  sacrament.  But  this  decision 
our  Church  has  not  pronounced  ;  and,  I  repeat,  can- 
not be  made  to  pronounce.  So  far  is  she  from  the 
opinion,  which  such  a  decision  would  involve,  that 
her  highest  authorities  in  England,  as  well  as  in 
America,  following  herein  the  voice  of  antiquity, 
have  decided  that  even  lay-baptism,  however  ir- 
regular, is,  nevertheless,  valid  and  not  to  be  repeat- 
ed.    Her  article,   therefore,   does  not  teach  that 


THE  VISIBLE  CHUMCH.  177 

''  the  visible  Church  of  Christ "  is  bounded  by  the 
limits  of  an  Episcopal  ministry  and  sacraments.  It 
is  one  thing  to  say  that  non-episcopal  bodies,  as 
outward  organizations,  are,  in  the  full  sense,  regular 
Churches  ;  and  quite  another  to  afi&rm  that  they 
belong  to  the  one  visible,  Catholic  Church  of  Christ 
The  former,  an  Episcopalian  needs  not  to  assert 
The  latter  it  behoves  him  steadfastly  to  hold. 

2.  But  leaving  the  teachings  of  the  Article,  let  us 
adduce  other  testimony.  Following  the  order  ob- 
served when  speaking  of  the  spiritual  Church,  I  cite, 
first,  from 

I.   OUR   DEVOTIONAL  STANDARDS. 

1.  In  our  communion  service,  is  the  prayer  ''  For 
the  whole  state  of  Christ's  Church  militant"  This 
I  understand  to  mean,  the  whole  Church  on  earth, 
visible  and  invisible,  spiritual  and  mixed  ;  and  I 
understand  it  to  speak  of  this  Church  as  militant, 
or  warring,  against  those  leagued  foes  without,  the 
world,  the  flesh  and  the  devil,  as  well  as  against 
those  deadly  enemies  within,  sin,  error  and  super- 
stition ;  foes,  that  trouble  the  Church  as  spiritual  ; 
and  enemies  that  defile  the  Church  as  mixed.  Of 
whom,  then,  according  to  this  solemn  and  authori- 
tative formula,  does  this  "  whole  state  of  Christ's: 
Church  militant,"  so  far,  at  least,  as  it  is  to  be  con- 
12 


178  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE, 

sidered  visible,    consist?    Hear  tlie   witness.     It 

* 

consists  of  all  ''who  do  confess  His  holy  name  ;" 
not  only  of  those  who  really  and  savingly  believe 
in  that  holy  name,  but  of  all  who  profess  to  believe 
in  it ;  though,  in  so  many  instances,  their  faith  lives 
no  where  but  in  profession.  For  all  these,  and 
none  less,  the  prayer  goes  up  that  they  may,  as  ''  a 
consummation  most  devoutly  to  be  wished,"  be 
"inspired  with  the  spirit  of  truth,  unity  and  con- 
cord ;"  or  that  they  "may  agree  in  the  truth  of 
His  holy  Word,  and  live  in  unity  and  godly  love  ; " 
and  that  their  "Bishops  and  other  ministers  may, 
both  by  their  life  and  doctrine,  set  forth  His  true 
and  lively  Word,  and  rightly  and  duly  administer 
His  holy  sacraments."  This  testimony  is  very 
emphatic.  The  "universal  Church"  of  Christ  is 
expressly  dehned  as  consisting  of  "  all  who  do  con- 
fess His  holy  name  ; "  and  its  visibility  is  here,  as  in 
the  Article,  considered  as  consisting  in  this  confes- 
sion, under  the  appointed  forms  of  the  preaching  of 
the  ^'  true  and  lively  Word,"  and  of  the  "  right  and 
due  administration  of  the  holy  sacraments."  It  is 
true,  indeed,  that  more  is  expressed  here  than  in 
the  Article.  There  is  here  a  distinct  intimation  that 
WE,  for  ourselves,  have  adopted  an  Episcopal  minis- 
try, or  a  ministry  of  Bishops  ;  but  this  is  without 
any  claim  that  such  a  ministry  is  indispensably 
necessary  to  the  being  of  the  sacraments.     We  ask 


THE  VISIBLE  CHURCH.  179 

grace,  not  merely  for  ''all  Bisliops,  priests  and 
deacons,"  but  for  "all  Bishops  and  other  ministers  ;" 
and  I  think  that  this  peculiar  turn  of  the  expression 
must  have  been  intended  to  include  somewhat  more 
than  a  simply  Episcopal  ministry.  As  a  petition 
for  "Bishops  and  other  ministers,"  it  must  I  appre- 
hend, be  considered  as  a  prayer  for  "  Bishops  and 
ALL  other  ministers,"  even  for  all  who  minister  to 
THE  ALL  "  who  do  coufcss  Christ's  holy  name  ; "  to 
THE  ALL  who  make  up  "  the  whole  state  of  Christ's 
Church  militant."  This  prayer,  and  the  ancient 
liturgies,  in  which  it  stands,  were  doubtless  framed 
in  times,  when  there  was  none  but  an  Episcopal 
ministry  to  pray  for :  but  the  remark  is  most  im- 
portant, that  the  prayer  was  adopted  into  our 
communion  service,  both  in  England  and  this  coun- 
try, at  a  time  when  our  Church  authorities  had 
come  to  the  knowledge  and  to  the  acknowledgment 
of  the  fact,  that  there  were  then,  in  the  Church 
militant,  many  ministers  of  Christ,  who  had  never 
been  Episcopally  ordained. 

2.  Indeed,  this  freedom  of  our  Prayer-Book  lan- 
guage from  all  particularizing,  its  large  generalness 
of  expression,  is  very  remarkable.  I  cite  a  second 
instance  of  it  from  our  last  prayer  at  "  The  Institu- 
tion of  Ministers."  We  there  pray  for  "  the  Church, 
built  upon  the  foundation  of  the  apostles  and 
prophets,  Jesus  Christ  himself  being  the  chief  cor- 


i8o  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

ner-stone, that,  by  the    operation  of   the 

Holy  Ghost,  all  Christians  may  be  so  joined 
together  in  unity  of  spirit,  and  in  the  bond  of  peace, 
that  they  may  be  an  holy  temple,  acceptable  unto 
God."  This  language  is  broad  as  possible.  It 
knows  no  "  foundation '' to  the  Church  narrower 
than  "Christ,"  and  no  ''temple"  for  the  visible 
Zion  smaller  than  that  which  contains  "  all  Chris- 
tians." In  one  sense,  this  is  a  prayer  of  sorrows. 
It  looks  sadly  on  this  world-wide  Church  of  Christ, 
and  sees  it  agitated,  divided,  and,  in  many  things, 
defiled  ;  and,  at  the  sight,  its  petitions  go  up  amid 
sighs  and  tears.  In  another  sense,  however,  it  is  a 
prayer  of  faith.  It  looks  on  this  Church  universal 
through  the  sweet  light  of  promise,  and,  in  the 
power  of  strong,  hopeful  entreaty,  sees  the  time 
when  the  true  "  unity,"  that  "of  the  Spirit,"  and  the 
true  "bond,"  that  of  "  peace,"  shall  embrace  and 
bind  together  in  love  "all  Christians,"  "all  who 
profess  Christ's  holy  name  ;"  and  when  thus  the 
Church  visible  shall,  as  nearly  as  earth  will  allow, 
become  identical  with  the  Church  spiritual ;  and,  at 
the  sight,  its  petitions  go  up,  if  amid  sighs  and 
tears,  amid  smiles  and  thankfulness  as  well.  It  be- 
comes, truly,  a  prayer  into  which  every  large-heart- 
ed disciple  of  Christ  delights  to  put  his  whole  soul 
of  believing,  trustful,  and  fervent  intercession. 
3.  A  third  instance  of  this  same  large  general- 


THE  VISIBLE  GHUECH.  181 

ness  of  language  when  speaking  of  the  visible 
Church,  may  be  cited  from  the  praj^er  ''for  all  con- 
ditions of  men."  We  there  ''pray  for  the  holy 
Church  universal,  that  all,  who  profess  and  call 
themselves  Christians, may,  by  the  guid- 
ance and  governance  of  Grod's  good  Spirit,  .... 
be  led  into  the  way  of  truth  and  hold  the  faith  in 
unity  of  spirit,  in  the  bond  of  peace,  and  in  right- 
eousness of  life.'^  This  prayer,  be  it  remembered, 
was  never  in  any  of  the  ancient  liturgies.  It  is  of 
English  and  Protestant  origin.  And  it  was  framed, 
it  is  alleged,  by  good  Bishop  Sanderson  of  Lincoln. 
His  views  of  the  comprehension  of  the  visible 
Church  are,  as  we  shall  presently  see,  well  known  ; 
and  there  can  be  no  doubt,  that,  when  this  formula 
speaks  of  "  the  holy  Church  universal  "  as  embrac- 
ing "  ALL  who  profess  and  call  themselves  Chris- 
tians," it  means  to  include  not  only  all  the  ancient 
Episcopal  communions,  but  also  all  the  then  modern 
Reformed  and  Protestant  bodies,  though  many  of 
these  were  not  Episcopally  constituted.  It  means, 
says  our  American  Bishop  Brownell,  in  his  Com- 
mentary on  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  "  The 
Oriental,  the  Greek,  the  Latin,  the  Reformed,  with 
every  denomination  of  Christians."  When  the 
English  Church,  and  our  American  Episcopal  after 
it,  adopted  this  prayer  into  their  solemn  liturgy, 
they  not  only  prayed,  (with  the  heart  of  every  true 


l82 


TEE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 


follower  of  Christ  saying,  "Amen,'')  that  ''the  faith 
may  be  held  in  unity  of  spirit,  in  the  bond  of  peace, 
and  in  righteousness  of  life,''  but  also  taught,  (with 
whatever  of  authority  they  possess,)  that  *'  the 
Church  Universal  "  includes,  amid  whatever  of  pres- 
ent agitation,  division  and  corruption,  still,  in  the 
hope  of  future  peace,  unity  and  purit}',  "all  who 
profess  and  call  themselves  Christians."  The  "  pro- 
fession" of  the  Christian  faith  ;  the  "  calling  them- 
selves" of  Christ ;  the  putting  themselves  forth  be- 
fore the  world  under  the  accustomed  forms  of  Chris- 
tian profession, — the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  and  a 
due  reception  of  Christ's  sacraments,  are  here,  by 
specially  Protestant  witnessing,  set  forth  as  the 
true  comprehending  lines  of  the  whole  visible  body 
of  Christ. 

4.  A  fourth  instance,  of  this  Catholicity  of  our 
Book  of  Common  Prayer,  is  found,  not,  indeed,  in 
its  devotional  language,  but  in  its  historic  preface  ; 
an  official  document  of  the  highest  consideration, 
set  forth  by  authority  of  our  highest  Council,  the 
General  Convention  of  1789,  when  publicly  sanc- 
tioning the  use  of  our  devotional  forms.  The  pas- 
sage, to  which  I  refer,  is  this  :  "  When,  in  the 
course  of  divine  Providence,  these  American  States 
became  independent  with  respect  to  civil  govern- 
ment, their  ecclesiastical  independence  was  neces- 
sarily included  ;  and  the  different  religious  denom^ 


THE  VISIBLE  GHURGH.  185 

inations  of  Christians  in  these  States  were  left  at 
full  and  equal  liberty  to  model  and  organize  their 
respective  Churches,  and  forms  of  worship  and 
discipline,  in  such  manner  as  they  might  judge  most 
convenient  to  their  future  prosperity,  consistently 
with  the  laws  and  constitution  of  their  country." 

Here,  the  Non-Episcopal  denominations  of  the 
United  States  are  acknowledged  to  be  ''Churches.'; 
It  is  not  admissible  to  say  that  the  word,  "  Church- 
es," is  here  used  loosely  and  by  courtesy  ;  or  that, 
while  the  term.  Church,  belongs  exclusively  to  us, 
the  phrase,  ''Religious  Denominations  of  Chris- 
tians," is  the  appropriate  description  of  all  the 
others.  The  language  quoted,  is  not  that  of  mere 
careless  politeness  ;  it  is  that  of  strictly  serious  in- 
tent ;  as  might  be  made  abundantly  manifest  from 
our  Church  literature  at  that  period  :  particularly 
from  the  writings  of  Bishop  White,  and  of  Drs. 
William  Smith  and  Charles  H.  Wharton,  the  most 
eminent  divines  in  the  General  Convention  of  1789. 
As  to  the  other  part  of  the  suggestion,  I  know  it 
has  become  fashionable  in  certain  quarters  to  re- 
strict the  term,  Church,  to  ourselves,  and  to  apply 
that  of  "Eeligious  Denominations  of  Christians" 
to  others.  But  this  is  trifling  with  the  subject. 
Our  highest  Council,  that  which  first  gave  form  to 
our  Church  in  this  land,  applies  this  description  to 
ourselves,  as  well  as  to  others.      When  it  says,. 


1 84  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE, 

"■  The  different  Religious  Denominations  of  Chris- 
tians in  these  States  were  left  at  full  and  equal  lib- 
erty to  model  and  organize  their  respective  Chur- 
ches," it  includes  ourselves  among  the  rest ;  it 
calls  us,  as  well  as  others,  '*a  Religious  Denomina- 
tion of  Christians."  And  therefore,  when  it  declares 
that  all  these  denominations  "had  full  and  equal 
right  to  model  and  organize  tlieir  respective 
Churches,"  it  admits  that  they  are  all  Churches  ; 
it  asserts  the  essence  of  Church-cliaracter  to  the 
other  denominations  as  seriously  and  as  strictly  as 
it  claims  the  essence  of  that  character  for  our- 
selves. I  say,  not  that  it  concedes  to  them  the 
same  regularness  and  fullness  of  Church- character, 
which  in  other  documents  we  claim  for  ourselves ; 
but  that  it  asserts  to  them  the  essence  of  that 
character  as  seriously  and  as  strictly  as  it  claims 
the  essence  of  that  character  for  ourselves.  Any  oth- 
er inference  makes  our  Church  an  insincere,  equivo- 
cating courtier,  when  speaking  of  the  things  of  God 
in  her  highest,  most  dignified  capacity,  on  one  of  the 
greatest,  most  solemn  crises  of  her  history.  She 
hath  not  thus  degraded  herself  She  is  erect  in 
high-minded  integrity.  She  has  seriously  asserted 
to  Non-Episcopal  religious  denominations  of  Chris- 
tians the  essence  of  Church -character.  And  this 
is  one  reason  why,  at  least  until  she  loses  her  Pro- 
testantism, she  cannot  be  made  to  utter  the  author- 


THE  VISIBLE  CHURCH.  185 

itative  decision,  that  the  Episcopacy  is  essential  to 
the  being  of  a  Church,  or  that  the  Non-Episcopal 
denominations  are  no  Churches. 

So  far,  then,  as  our  standards  are  concerned,  the 
testimony  may  be  considered  sufficient,  in  favor 
of  the  view  which  I  have  given  of  the  visible  Church 
Catholic,  as  comprehending  "the  whole  company 
on  earth  of  those  who  profess  the  Christian  faith, 
maintain  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  are  united 
by  the  common  bond  of  sacraments,  and  are  infect- 
ed with  no  heresy  subversive  of  the  Christian  faith  !'' 
I  proceed,  therefore,  to  examine  the  testimony  of 

II.    OUR   STANDARD   WRITERS. 

This  will  be  found  luminous  on  the  point,  of 
which  I  am  now  treating.  The  standard  writers, 
now  referred  to,  belong,  of  course,  to  the  country, 
in  which  our  Protestant  Reformation  was  effected  ; 
but  they  flourished,  not  in  the  century  which  wit- 
nessed that  Reformation,  but  in  that  which  imme- 
diately followed  ;  they  are  the  writers  of  the  Seven- 
teenth Century. 

1.  I  quote,  first  from  Dr.  Thomas  Jackson  of 
New  Castle,  who  wrote  in  the  early  part  of  that 
century,  and  who  has  already  been  mentioned  as 
one  of  the  most  eminent  divines  of  that  prolific 
age.     In  his  "Treatise  of  the  Holy  Catholic  Faith 


i86  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

and  Church/'  after  defining  "The  Church  in  its 
prime,"  or  spiritual  "  sense,"  he  uses  this  language  : 
*'In  a  secondary,  analogical  sense,  every  present 
visible  Church,  which  holdeth  the  holy  Catholic 
faith,  without  which  no  man  can  be  saved,  pure 
and  undefiled  with  the  traditions  or  inventions  of 
men,  may  be  termed  a  holy  Catholic  Church." 
"Who  they  be  which   profess   the  unity  of  that 

faith, is  visible  and  known  to  all  such  as 

either  hear  them  profess  it,  viva  voce,  or  can  read 
and  understand  their  profession  of  it  given  in  writ- 
ing." [Treat,  on  the  Holy  Cath.  Faith  and  Church, 
p.  152.  Phila.  1844.]  And,  to  show  that,  by  the 
phrase,  "  every  present  visible  Church,"  he  does 
not  mean  every  Episcopally  organized  Church  only, 
he  proceeds  to  speak  of  "  such  a  communion"  as 
existed  "between  the  Orthodoxal  professors  of  the 
English  or  other  Reformed  Churches  ;"  [Treat,  etc., 
p.  154,]  and  of  "  Luther,  and  Christian  princes,  by 
God's  appointment,  uniting  the  visible  members  of 
the  holy  Catholic  Church  into  visible  Churches." 
[Treat,  etc.,  p.  158.]  In  those  days,  indeed,  of 
close  searching  into  the  nature  of  things  spiritual 
and  ecclesiastical,  this  class  of  eminent  divines  had 
no  thought  of  shutting  the  Reformed  Continental 
Churches,  though  deprived  of  the  Episcopacy,  out 
of  the  pale  of  visible  Catholicism.  Hence  Bishop 
Hall  even  while  lamenting  their  want  of  Episcopal 


THE  VISIBLE  CEUEGH.  187 

order,  yet,  in  view  of  their  holding  the  true  faith 
of  the  Gospel,  affectionately  terms  them  "The 
Church  of  England's  dearest  sisters  abroad  ;"  [Ser- 
mon on  Noah's  Dove;]  meaning,  by  "sisters," 
sister  Churches  ;  for  the  sister  of  a  Church  must  be 
herself  a  Church.  Jackson's  definition,  then,  of  the 
visible  Church  spreads  itself  over  the  whole  ground 
which  we  have  been  surveying.  To  entitle  the 
visible  Church,  indeed,  to  the  name,  "holy,"  it 
must,  according  to  him,  hold  "  the  Catholic  faith  " 
"  pure  and  undefiled."  But,  though  a  particular 
Church  hold  this  faith  more  or  less  corrupted  "by 
traditions  and  inventions  of  men,"  and  thus  ceases 
to  deserve  the  name  "  holy,"  yet,  so  long  as  it  does 
not,  by  heresy,  subvert  the  foundations  of  the  faith, 
it  does  not  cease  to  be  a  portion  of  the  visible 
Church  Catholic  on  earth.  This  Church  may  and 
does  exist  in  a  state  far  from  pure  ;  and  can  be 
called  holy,  for  no  other  reason  than  because  it 
holds  the  Truth  which  is  holy,  and  is  designed  to 
minister  to  the  spiritual  growth  of  that  hidden  peo- 
ple who  are  holy. 

2.  I  quote,  second.  Bishop  Sanderson  of  Lincoln, 
whom  I  before  cited  as  the  alleged  author  of  our 
"  Prayer  for  all  Conditions  of  Men,"  and  who  fur- 
nishes a  very  apposite  definition  of  the  visible 
Church.  Having  given  that,  formerly  quoted,  of 
the  spiritual  or  invisible  Church,  he  immediately 


i88  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

adds  :  ''  The  whole  company,  of  all  those  through- 
out the  world,  who,  by  their  doctrine  and  worship, 
do  outwardly  make  profession  of  the  Name  of 
Christ ;  this  we  call  the  universal  visible  Church, 
or  the  Catholic  Christian  Church."  And  then  to 
show  in  what  various  conditions  this  universal  visi- 
ble Church  may  exist,  and  what  utterly  subverts 
it ;  he  says  :  ''  A  total  and  utter  defection  from  the 
whole  faith  of  Christ,  in  doctrine  and  in  worship, 
destroys  the  very  being  of  a  Church,  and  maketh 
it  no  Church  at  all.  But  a  defection  from  the  purity 
of  faith  doth  not  take  away  the  being  of  a  Church  ; 
(it  remains  still  a  true  Church)  but  only  maketh  it 
an  impure  and  corrupt  Church,  and,  so  far  forth,  a 

false  Church Corruptions  in  doctrine  and 

worship,  as  they  are  greater  or  lesser,  so  they 
make  a  Church  more  or  less,  comparatively,  cor- 
rupt." [Disc,  on  Visibility  of  the  True  Church, 
pp.  213-215.  Phila.  1844.]  The  same  writer 
speaks  repeatedly  of  ''  the  Protestant  Churches,'^ 
by  which  he  means  that  of  England  and  those  of 
the  Continent,  as  standing  together  on  the  ''sub- 
stance of  faith,"  being  ''  more  or  less  reformed 
in  doctrine  and  worship,"  and  constituting  "par- 
ticular visible  Churches."  [Disc,  etc.,  pp.  222- 
224.] 

It  is  needless  to  point  out,  by  extended  comment, 
the  entire  coincidence  of  this  author  with  the  view 


TEE  VISIBLE  CHURCH.  189 

which  I  have  given  of  the  visible  Church  Catholic. 
He  makes  a  clear  distinction  between  what  is  essen- 
tial to  the  being  and  what  is  important  to  the  well- 
being  of  this  Church. 

3.  I  quote,  third,  from  Dr.  Cosin,  who  became 
afterwards  Bishop  of  Durham,  and  who,  like  Bishop 
Hall,  was  ever  one  of  the  "  staunchest  of  Church- 
men."    He   calls   the   French  Protestants,  in  the 
middle  of  the  Seventeenth  Century,   ''Reformed 
Churches,"  and  discountenances  a  refusal  of  their 
communion,  when  the  plea  urged  for  such  refusal 
was,  that,  "for  want  of  Episcopal  ordination,  they 
had'no  order  at  all ;"  that  is,  no  ministerial  orders. 
"  If,  upon  this  ground,"  says  he,  "we  renounce  the 
French,  we  must,  for  the  very  same  reason,  re- 
nounce all  the  ministers  of  Germany  besides  ;    .  .  . 
and    then,    what    will  become  of  the  Protestant 
party  ?     ....  If  the  Church  and  kingdom  of  Eng- 
land have   acknowledged   them,"  (as   they  have,) 
*'why  should  we,  who   are  but  private  persons, 
utterly  disclaim    their    communion?"     [Letter  to 
Cordel,  Hooker's  Collection,  p.  234.     Phila.  1844.] 
This,  considering  the  general  views  of  the  author 
from  whom  it  comes,  is  perhaps  one  of  the  most 
striking  testimonies  to  the  truth,  that  though,  in 
our  judgment  highly  important  to  the  well-being, 
yet  Episcopal   ordination  is  not  indispensable  to 
the  being  of  the  visible  Church. 


190  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE, 

4.  I  quote,  fourth,  from  ''  the  judicious  Hooker.'^ 
In  his  Ecclesiastical  Polity,  he  uses  this  strong  lan- 
guage :  "If,  by  external  profession,  they  be  Chris- 
tians, then  they  are  the  visible  Church  of  Christ ; 
and  Christians,  by  external  profession,  they  are  all, 
whose  mark  of  recognizance  hath  in  it  those  things, 
which  we  have  mentioned,  (one  Lord,  one  faith,  one 
baptism)  yea,  although  they  be  impious  idolaters, 
wicked  heretics,  persons  excommunicable.'^  And 
then,  to  the  question,  whether  it  be  possible  for 
such  persons,  belonging  as  they  really  do  ''to  the 
Synagogue  of  Satan,"  to  belong  also  ''  to  the  Church 
of  Jesus  Christ,"  he  answers,  in  the  very  spirit  of 
the  present  argument,  ''Unto  that  Church  which  is 
His  mystical  Body,"  it  is  "not  possible  "  for  such 
persons  to  belong  :  "  because  that  Body  consisteth 
of  none  but  only  true  Israelites,  true  sons  of  Abra- 
ham, true  servants  and  saints  of  God  :"  but,  "  of 
the  visible  body  and  Church  of  Jesus  Christ,  those 
may  be  and  often  are  "  members.  [Eccl.  Pol.,  B. 
III.  §  1.]  According  to  this  authority,  then, 
and  with  an  emphatic  a  fortiori^  they  belong  to  the 
visible  Church,  who  are  neither  "impious  idola- 
ters" nor  "wicked  heretics,"  but  who,  in  their 
outward  profession,  hold  the  Truth  in  the  main  un- 
corrupt,  and,  in  their  outward  lives,  walk  in  be- 
coming consistency  with  their  profession  ;  albeit,  in 
the  order  of  their  ministry,  they  lack  somewhat 


THE  VISIBLE  CHURCH.  191 

which  we  deem  requisite  to  the  fullness  of  the  Apos- 
tolic pattern. 

5.  I  quote,  fifth,  from  Bishop  Hall,  whose  lan- 
guage is  equally  strong.  He  says  :  "It  is  not  the 
variety  of  by-opinions,  that  can  exclude  them  from 
having  their  part  in  that  one  Catholic  Church,  and 
their  just  claim  to  the  '  communion  of  saints.' 
While  they  hold  the  solid  and  precious  foundation, 
it  is  not  the  hay,  or  stubble,  which  they  lay  upon 
it,  that  can  cut  them  off  from  God  and  His  Church." 
And  then,  after  lamenting,  in  the  most  impassioned 
strain,  the  numerous  errors  and  dissentions  which 
have  crept  in  among  Christians,  he  thus  proceeds 
to  assert  that  they  do  not  destroy  the  real  oneness 
of  the  visible  Church:  "Notwithstanding  all  this 
hideous  variety  of  vain  and  heterodoxal  concep- 
tions, He,  who  is  the  Truth  of  God  and  the  Bride- 
groom of  His  Church,  hath  said  :  "My  Dove,  my 
undefiled,  is  One  ;"  one  in  the  main,  essential,  fund- 
amental verities  necessarj'  to  salvation  ;  though 
differing  in  divers  mis-raised  corollaries,  inconse- 
quent inferences,  unnecessary  additions,  feigned 
traditions,  unwarrantable  practices.  The  Body  is 
one,  though  the  garments  differ  ;  yea,  rather,  for 
most  of  these,  the  garment  is  one,  but  differs  in  the 
dressing  ;  handsomely  and  comely  set  out  by  some, 
disguised  by  another.  Neither  is  it,  or  ever  shall 
be  in  the  power,  of  all  the  fiends  of  hell,  the  pro- 


1^2  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

fessed  make-baits  of  the  world,  to  make  God^s 
Church  other  than  one  ;  which  were,  indeed,  utterly 
to  extinguish  and  reduce  it  to  nothing ;  for  the 
unity  and  entity  of  the  Church  can  no  more  be  di- 
vided than  itself  ....  Those  that  agree  in  the 
main  principles  of  religion,  Christ  is  pleased  to 
admit,  for  matter  of  doctrine,  as  members  of  that 
body  wherof  He  is  the  Head,  and  if  they  admit  not 
of  each  other  as  such  the  fault  is  in  the  uncharita- 
bleness  of  the  refusers,  no  less  than  in  the  errors 
of  the  refused.  If  any  vain  and  loose  stragglers 
will  needs  sever  themselves,  and  wilfully  choose  to 
go  ways  of  their  own,  let  them  know  that  the  union 
of  Christ's  Church  shall  consist  entire  without  them. 
This  great  ocean  will  be  one  collection  of  waters, 
when  these  drops  are  lost  in  the  dust."  [Treat,  of 
Christ  Mystical,  chap.  vii.  §  2.] 

This  language,  like  the  prayer  in  our  communion 
ofiBce,  evidently  embraces  "  The  whole  state  of 
Christ's  Church  militant"  in  time,  spiritual  and 
mixed  ;  and  it  goes  on  the  ground  that  there  is  a 
sense,  in  which  this  whole  Church  is  one,  notwith- 
standing its  divisions  and  imperfections.  "The 
Body  is  one  though  the  garments  differ  :  yea,  rather, 
for  the  most  of  these,  the  garment  is  one,  but  dif- 
fers in  the  dressing."  In  other  words,  even  as  visi- 
ble, the  Church  is  one,  though  it  hath  many  parts, 
and  though  the  various  parts  have  various  external 


TEE  VISIBLE  CHURCH.  ip^ 

order  and  form  ;  or  rather,  most,  though  not  all,  of 
the  parts  have  but  one  garment  of  outward  order 
and  form.     Most,  though  not  all,  have  an  Episco- 
pacy in  the  ministry,   and  a  liturgy  in  worship  ; 
an  external  development  more  or  less  beautiful  and 
showy  ;  most,  though  not  all ;  some   of  \h^   parts 
wear  even  a  different  garment,  woven  of  the  warp 
and  woof,  not  of  an  Episcopacy  and  a  liturgy,  but  of 
parity  in  order,   and  the  extempore  in  worship. 
Nevertheless,  all  these  are  but  parts  of  the  one 
Body.      These    diversities    touch    not    essentials. 
They   ''cut  not  off  from   God   or   His  Church." 
Such  is  Bishop  Hall's  figure,  turned  into  literal 
sense. 

6.  I  quote,  finally,  Bishop  Jeremy  Taylor.     De- 
claring in  what  sense  the  word,  Church,  is  applied 
to  the  mixed  and  often  rent  Body  of  the  visible 
congregation,  he  says:   "The  word,  Church.  .  .  . 
may  be  and  is  given  to  them  by  way  of  supposi- 
tion, and  legal  presumption  ;  as  a  jury  of  twelve 
men  are  called  '  good  men  and  true  ;'  that  is,  they 
are  not  known  to  be  otherwise,  and  are  therefore 
presumed  to  be  such  ;  and  they  are  the  Church,  in 
all  human  accounts  ;  that  is,  they  are  the  congrega- 
tion of  all  that  profess  the  Name  of  Christ  j  in  which 
are   the  wheat  and  the  tares  ;  and  they  are  bound 
up  in  common  by  the  union  of  sacraments  and  rites, 
name  and  profession  ^  but  in  nothing  else."     [Dis- 
13 


,94  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

suasive  from  Popery,  Part  II.,  B.  i..  Sect.  1,  and 

§  §  1>  2.] 

To  estimate  rightly  these  testimonies  from  our 
old  writers  to  the  view  which  I  have  given  of  the 
visible  Church  Catholic,  we  must  remember  that 
they  belong  to  the  age  which  closely  followed  that 
of  the  Reformation  itself ;  that  they  write  in  pres- 
ence of  the  great,  outstanding  fact  that  a  consider- 
able portion  of  the  Reformed  Body  was,  as  it  still 
continues,  without  an  Episcopal  ministry  ;  and  that 
they  were  in  the  habit  of  speaking  of  this  portion 
as  "  the  Reformed  Churches." 

This  whole  discussion  about  the  visible  Church 
might,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  be  deemed  un- 
interesting and  even  unprofitable.  But  it  cannot  be 
so  considered  when  we  remember  that  the  circum- 
stances of  the  times  in  which  we  live  are  very  ex- 
traordinary. We  live  in  a  day  when  many  are 
endeavoring  to  upheave  the  very  foundations  of  our 
Protestantism,  and  to  deprive  of  all  claim  to  the 
name  of  a  Church  those  whom  our  fathers  have  re- 
cognized as  belonging  to  the  great  visible  Body  of 
Christ.  This  effort  cannot  succeed  without  putting 
in  jeopardy  our  own  integrity,  if  not  our  own  ex- 
istence, as  a  Church  ;  nor,  what  is  worse,  without 
undermining  all  that  is  most  precious  in  the  Gospel 
of  Christ  as  we  receive  it  from  ''  the  living  Oracles'' 
of  God.     Under  such  circumstances,  every  thing 


THE  VISIBLE  CHURCH.  195 

touching  right  views  of  even  the  visible  Church 
links  itself  vitally  with  the  Christian  teacher's 
grand  theme,  "Jesus  Christ  and  Him  crucified." 
We  must  lose  our  interest  in  this  all-enlivening 
heart  of  the  Gospel  before  we  can  become  indiffer- 
ent to  the  question,  What  is  the  true  comprehension 
of  the  visible  Church  ?  or  to  the  efforts  which  are 
made  to  exclude  from  it  some  of  the  deservedly 
valued  portions  of  the  professed  followers  of 
Christ. 

I  speak,  not  as  an  apologist  of  Non-Episcopalians, 
but  as  an  advocate  of  true  Church  priaciples.  That 
any  part  of  the  visible  Church  is  without  the  Epis- 
copacy is,  to  me,  a  matter  of  sorrow.  But  it  would 
be  a  matter,  not  merely  of  sorrow,  but  of  conscious 
wrong,  were  I  to  lay  at  the  base  of  the  visible 
Church  a  principle,  which,  in  its  operation,  cuts  off 
anj^  who,  by  the  laws  of  truth  and  right,  belong  to 
its  great  Corporation. 

Other  questions,  touching  the  visible  Church,  re- 
main for  consideration. 


PART    III 


WELL-BEING  OF  THE  VISIBLE  CHURCH. 


WELL-BEING    OF    THE   VISIBLE 
CHURCH. 


CHAPTEE     I. 

01^   THE   MINISTRY. 

^  I^HE  Church  Catholic,  both  in  its  divine  holi- 
-*-  ness,  and  in  its  actual  visibleness  ;  what  is 
necessary  to  the  being  of  each,  and  what  each  re- 
ally comprehends  ;  this  is  the  subject,  upon  which 
the  present  course  of  studies  hciS,  thus  far,  been 
engaged.  Christ  and  the  members  really  united 
with  Him  by  the  inworking  Spirit,  in  a  living  and 
sanctifying  faith,  this  is  the  spiritual  Church  Cath- 
olic : — Christ  and  the  members  professedly  united 
with  Him  by  outward  signs,  teaching  faith  and 
holiness,  this  is  the  visible  Church  Catholic  ;  each 
in  its  essence,  or  v/hat  is  necessary  to  its  ex- 
istence. 

And  here,  if  I  were  dealing  simply  with  princi- 
ples, with  the  truths  of  God's  Word,  and  the  essen- 
tials of  His  Church,  I  might  leave  the  subject ;  not 
because,  even  in  this  view",  the  subject  is  exhaust- 
ed, but  because  enough  has  been  said  to  clear  the 
one  point,  at  which  I  have  been  aiming,  the  true 
comprehension  of  the  Church  of  Christ. 

(199) 


200  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

But,  siDce  it  is  evident  tliat  this  subject  concerns, 
not  only  principles,  but  also  men  and  the  working 
out  of  principles,  it  is  also  evident  that  we  ought  to 
understand  not  only  what  is  necessary  to  the  being 
of  the  Church,  but  also  what  is  requisite  to  its  well- 
being  J  what  is  designed  to  secure  its  order,  its 
permanency,  and  its  prosperity. 

The  main  requisites  to  the  well-being  of  the 
Church  are,  doubtless,  to  be. found  in  a  faithful 
preaching  of  the  Gospel,  and  in  a  due  administra- 
tion of  the  sacraments  of  Christ.  But  both  of  these, 
as  reason  may  infer,  and  as  the  Scriptures  teach, 
imply  A  MINISTRY,  whose  office  it  is  both  to  preach 
the  Gospel  and  to  administer  the  sacraments.  But, 
besides  these  functions,  the  ministry  has  more  or 
less  to  do  with  the  Government  and  Worship  of  the 
Church  ;  while,  if  we  would  really  grasp  all  that  is 
requisite  to  the  well-being  of  the  Church,  still  other 
things  must  be  taken  into  our  view,  such  as  the 
Harmony  of  its  parts,  and  the  Unity  of  the  whole. 
The  topics,  then,  which  are  yet  to  occupy  our 
thoughts,  are  these  ;  the  Ministry,  the  Government, 
the  Worship,  the  Harmony,  and  the  Unity  of  the 
Church.  And  after  touching  upon  these,  not  sys- 
tematically and  exhaustively,  but  as  they  relate 
presently  and  practically  to  our  own  times,  and  the 
times  that  are  coming  on  the  earth,  it  will  not  be 
amiss  to  look  upwards,  and  see  in  what  a  divine 


ON  THE  MINISTRY,  201 

consummation  all  things  are  to  end,  when  heaven 
shall  have  received  the  whole,  and  when  Jesus  and 
His  saints  shall  show  the  universe  what  is  meant  by 
a  perfect  Church. 

1.    THE   MINISTRY   OF   THE   CHURCH. 

1.  In  entering  on  this  topic,  my  first  inquiry  is, 
What  is  the  relation  and  connection  of  the  ministry 
with  the  Church  ?  And  to  this  question,  if  I  mis- 
take not,  we  have  an  answer  in  a  passage,  which 
you  will  find  in  1  Cor.  12:  28:  ''God  hath  set 
some  in  the  Church  ;  first,  apostles  ;  secondarily, 
prophets  ;  thirdly,  teachers,  etc." 

I  refer  to  this  passage,  not  on  account  of  its  nu- 
merals, ''first,  secondarily,  and  thirdly,"  but  for 
two  other  reasons.  It  shows  first,  that  the  ministry 
is  from  God  :  "  God  hath  set  it  in  the  Church.^' 
Whatever  name  this  ministry  may,  at  different 
times,  have  borne ;  by  whatever  varying  forms  it 
may  have  been  successively  modified  ;  and  through 
whatever  outward  channel  it  may,  at  its  first  be- 
ginning, have  descended  ;  it  came  from  God,  and 
not  from  man.  Its  authority  is  divine,  and  not 
human.  And  then,  second,  it  shows  that  this  min- 
istry is  not  the  Church,  but  only  "some"  whom 
"  God  hath  set  in  the  Church  ;"  set,  doubtless,  in 
peculiar  stations,  and  in  special  authority  ;  and  yet 


20  2  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE, 

set  '^  in  the  Church."  The  Church  is  not,  as  some 
writers  teach,  set  in  the  ministry  ;  but  the  ministry 
is  set  in  the  Church. 

This  distinction  is  very  important.  When  cer- 
tain writers  speak  of  the  Church,  they  speak  as  if 
they  had  nothing  in  view  but  the  ministry  ;  as 
though,  in  its  ministry,  the  very  being  of  the 
Church  were  involved  ;  insomuch  that,  without  this 
ministry,  the  Church  itself  would  cease  to  exist. 
But  look  at  the  chapter  from  which  the  above  pas- 
sage is  taken,  and  see  what  a  very  different  view  is 
there  given.  "  As  the  body  is  one  and  hath  many 
members,  and  all  the  members  of  that  one  body, 
being  many,  are  one  body  ;  so  also  is  Christ.  For 
by  one  Spirit,  we  are  all  baptized  into  one  Body, 
whether  we  be  Jews  or  Gentiles  ;  whether  we  be 
bond  or  free  ;  and  have  been  all  made  to  drink  into 
one  Spirit.     For  the  body  is  not  one  member  but 

many God  hath  set  the  members,  every 

one  of  them,  in  the  body  as  it  hath  pleased  Him. 
And  if  they  were  all  one  member,  where  were  the 
body  ?  But  now  are  they  many  members,  yet  but 
one  body."  [1  Cor.  12  :  12-14,  18-20.]  Here  the 
Church  is  presented  under  the  familiar  metaphor 
of  a  body,  with  its  many  members  ;  all  constituting 
together  one  body.  This  Body,  not  its  ministry 
alone,  but  this  whole  Body,  with  its  many  mem- 
bers, in  subjection  to  its  ono  Head,  Christ,  const!- 


ON  THE  MINIS  TRY.  203 

tutes  the  Church  ;  and  in  this  Church  ''  God  hath 
set  some  ^'  of  the  members  in  places  of  peculiar 
eminence  and  importance  ;  just  as,  in  the  human 
fabric,  He  hath  assigned  corresponding  stations  to 
the  eye,  the  ear  and  the  hand.  Now,  we  may  as 
well  sa}^  that  the  human  body  consists  in  the  eye, 
the  ear  and  the  hand  ;  or  that  it  cannot  exist  with- 
out these  members,  as  that  the  Church,  the  Body 
of  Christ,  consists  in  its  ministry,  or  that  it  cannot 
exist  without  this  ministry.  Its  ministry,  indeed, 
are  important  members,  whom  *'  God  hath  set  in 
the  Church  ;"  but  they  are  not  essential  to  the  Be- 
ing of  the  Church,  any  more  than  the  eye,  the  ear 
and  the  hand  are  essential  to  the  being  of  a  human 
body.  Suppose  the  eye  were  gone,  or  the  ear 
wanting,  or  the  hand  left  off,  or  all  three  absent  at 
once  ;  still  the  body  would  be  there.  So  long  as 
there  was  a  head,  thinking,  knowing  and  govern- 
ing ;  and  a  heart,  living,  pulsing  and  feeling  ;  and 
animal  functions,  receiving,  digesting  and  distribut- 
ing ;  so  long  as  head  and  heart  and  animal  func- 
tions remain,  the  body  would  remain,  though  it 
wanted  eye,  or  ear,  or  hand  ;  yea,  though  it  wanted 
all  these  at  once.  Under  this  tripple  want,  and 
even  under  the  first,  the  second,  or  the  third  part 
of  this  want,  it  would  be,  indeed,  a  maimed  imper- 
fect, suffering  body  ;  still  it  would  be  a  body  with 
life,  and  soul,  and  action,  and  with  more  or  less 


204  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

of  enjoyment.  So,  from  the  Church,  suppose  that 
a  part,  or  even  the  whole,  of  its  ministry  were 
wanting,  still,  the  Church  itself  would  not  cease  to 
exist.  So  long  as  Christ,  its  thinking,  knowing, 
governing  Head  ;  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  its  living, 
pulsing,  quickening  heart ;  and  the  human  mem- 
bers, its  receiving,  digesting,  distributing  organism  ; 
so  long  as  all  these  remained,  the  Church  itself 
would  remain,  though  deprived  of  its  higher,  its 
middle,  or  its  lower  ministries  ;  yea,  though  de- 
prived of  all  these  at  once.  Under  this  tripple  de- 
privation, and  even  under  the  first,  the  second,  or 
the  third  part  of  this  deprivation,  it  would,  indeed, 
be  a  maimed,  imperfect,  suffering  Church  ;  still,  it 
would  be  a  Church  ;  it  would  have  life,  spirit  and 
activity,  and  somewhat  of  a  divine  joy. 

(1.)  These  remarks  show  the  difference  between 
the  ministry  as  being  "  set  in  the  Church,''  and  the 
Church  as  set,  or  organized,  in  the  ministry.  It 
settles  the  question  whether  the  members  make 
the  ministry,  or  the  ministry  the  members,  of  the 
Church,  by  showing  that  the  truth  lies  on  neither 
side.  Certainly  the  ministry  do  not  make  the 
members  of  the  Church  ;  and  as  certainly  the  mem- 
bers do  not  make  the  ministry.  Each,  indeed,  has 
somewhat  to  do  in  recognizino;  the  other  ;  but  nei- 
ther  makes  the  other.  God  makes  them  both,  fits 
them  for  each  other,  and  sets  them  both  together  in 


ON  THE  MINISTRY.  205 

Christ.  Just  as  in 'the  human  organism,  the  eye 
does  not  make  the  ear,  nor  the  ear  the  hand,  nor 
the  hand  the  foot ;  but  God  makes  them  all  and  fits 
them  all  to  serve  and  help  each  other,  and  sets 
them  all  together  in  the  body.  Practically,  this 
truth  is  too  often  ignored.  The  whole  Church, 
whether  as  spiritual  or  as  visible,  is  God's  work, 
not  man's.  True,  He  uses  men  in  this  work  ;  and 
He  uses  the  common  members  in  making  the  min- 
istry, as  really  as  He  uses  the  ministry  in  making 
the  common  members.  Still,  the  Work  itself  is 
His.    The  Church  is  "  His  workmanship."    He  sets 

''all  the  members, every  one  of  them" 

in  it,  the  lower  as  well  as  the  higher.  Without  His 
authority  and  agency,  the  Church,  whether  as  in- 
ward or  as  outward,  as  spiritual  or  as  visible, 
would  not  exist ;  and  His  authority  and  agency  are 
the  only  things  without  which  it  cannot  exist. 

(2.)  Moreover,  the  chapter  on  which  these  re- 
marks are  made,  shows  the  distinction  between  the 
being  of  the  Church  and  its  well-being  ;  between 
what  is  essential  to  its  existence,  and  what  is  need- 
ful to  its  fullness,  perfectness,  and  comfort.  The 
eye,  ear  and  hand  are  certainly  needful  to  the  full- 
ness, perfectness  and  comfort  of  the  human  body ; 
and  yet,  if  each  or  every  one  of  these  were  lost, 
the  essence  of  the  body  would  remain,  so  long  as 
the  head,  heart  and  animal  functions  were  left  un- 


2o6  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

touched  iu  living  action.  It  were  folly  to  lose  sight 
of  the  difference  between  what  is  thus  necessary 
to  the  being  and  life  of  the  body,  and  what  is  thus 
needful  to  its  best,  most  effective,  most  happy  be- 
ing. It  is  most  important  to  have  a  body  with  all 
its  members,  especially  its  chief  members  ;  a  body, 
full,  perfect,  strong,  and  able  to  do  everything  for 
which  it  was  designed ;  but,  for  the  purposes  of 
this  world,  it  is  better  to  have  a  body  with  the  loss 
of  some,  even  of  its  most  important  members,  than 
to  have  no  body  at  all.  So  in  the  things  of  Christ, 
a  ministry  is  evidently  needful  to  the  fullness,  the 
perfectness,  the  best  welfare,  of  the  Church  :  and 
yet,  if  a  part,  or  even  the  whole  of  this  ministry,  as 
this  term  is  ordinarily  understood,  should  by  pos- 
sibility be  lost,  the  being,  the  essence,  of  the  Church 
would  remain  so  long  as  Christ,  the  Spirit  and  the 
great  organism  of  members  remained  in  divine  life 
and  activity.  It  were  equal  folly  to  lose  sight  of 
the  difference  between  what  is  thus  essential  to  the 
being  and  life  of  the  Church,  and  what  is  thus  need- 
ful to  its  best,  most  effective,  most  happy  being. 
We  cannot  overrate  the  importance  of  having  a 
Church,  with  its  whole  organism  of  members,  min- 
istry and  all,  full,  perfect,  healthy,  and  able  to  do 
everything  for  which  it  was  constituted  ;  but  for 
the  purposes  of  both  worlds,  it  is  better  to  have  a 
Church  with  the  loss  of  some,  even  of  its  chief 


ON  THE  MINISTRY.  207 

members  ;  of  a  part,  or  even  the  whole  of  its  min- 
istry, than  to  have  no  Church  at  all ;  better  than 
to  lose  Christ,  and  the  Spirit,  and  the  great  "  Com- 
munion of  Saints "  from  off  the  earth  and  out  of 
heaven  ;  better  than  to  lose  head  and  heart  and 
the  whole  living  organism  from  among  all  the  off- 
spring of  the  Infinite  Father. 

To  all  this,  indeed,  it  may  be  objected,  that  if  by 
possibility  the  ministry  should  be  lost,  though  the 
Church  would  remain  for  a  time,  yet,  by  the  death 
of  its  members,  and  for  want  of  a  ministry  formally 
to  initiate  their  successors  in  membership,  it  would, 
in  the  course  of  one  natural  generation,  expire. 
To  this  objection,  however,  I  reply  :  So  long  as 
Christ,  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  "the  Lively  Ora- 
cles *'  of  Truth  coming  from  both  are  in  the  world, 
God  can  raise  up  and  ingraft  a  succession  of  mem- 
bers into  the  Body  of  Christ,  which  is  His  Church, 
even  without  the  hand  of  a  formally  ordained  min- 
istry. True,  a  Church  thus  perpetuated  would,  as 
a  visible  Body,  be  esteemed  a  maimed  and  im- 
perfect Church :  still,  it  would  be  a  Church  ;  and, 
for  God's  purposes,  unspeakably  better  than  no 
Church  at  all. 

However,  this  objection  and  reply  relate  to  a 
mere  abstract  possibility  ;  and  are  intended  to  give 
the  greater  distinctness  to  the  difference  between 
the  being  of  the  Church  and  its  well-being.     We 


2c8  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE, 

have  this  to  comfort  us  :  'the  ministry  is  not  lost  ; 
nor  while  Christ's  promise  lives  can  it  ever  be  lost. 
What  is  thus  needful  to  the  well-being  of  the  Church, 
the  Church  has  and  will  have,  until  Christ  comes 
again  and  puts  Himself  fmally  in  the  place  of  all 
ministries. 

2.  Having  now  seen  the  relation  of  the  ministry 
to  the  Church,  we  are  prepared  for  a  second  in- 
quiry :  What  is  this  ministr}^  ?  We  have  already 
seen  that  its  origin  is  from  Christ ;  that  God,  not 
man,  *'  hath  set  it  in  the  Church,"  as  "some"  among 
the  "many  members"  who  are  to  serve  and  be 
served  in  the  weal  and  working  of  the  whole  Body  ; 
and  that  thus  its  place  of  eminence,  whatever  it 
may  be,  has  been  assigned  to  it  by  a  Divine  and 
not  by  any  human  authority.  But,  what  is  this 
eminence  among  the  members  which  has  been  as- 
signed to  the  ministry  of  the  Church  by  its  Divine 
Head?  or,  what  form  and  development  has  this 
ministry  taken  from  the  hands  of  those  Apostles, 
with  whom,  at  its  origin,  this  ministry  was  lodged  ? 
What  shape  did  they  give  it  when  they  came  to 
transmit  it  to  the  ages  of  the  Church  then  future  ? 
Tliis  questioning  leads  us  into  a  subject  too  wide 
•for  full  survey  in  this  Treatise;  and  therefore,  I 
must  content  myself  with  a  simple  confession  of  my 
faith,  that  it  may  stand  as  sufficient  for  my  present 
purpose,  instead  of  any  long  array  of  arguments. 


ON  THE  MINISTRY,  209 

I  begin  this  confession,  then,  in  the  words  which 
the  Preface  to  our  ''  Ordinal,''  or  form  of  ordina- 
tion, puts  into  my  mouth,  and  which  I  am  pre- 
pared to  utter  from  my  heart.     ''It  is  evident," 
says  this  Preface,  ''  unto  all  men  diligently  reading 
holy  Scripture  and  ancient  authors,  that  from  the 
Apostles'  time  there  have  been  these  orders  of 
ministers  in  Christ's  Church,  Bishops,  Priests  and 
Deacons.      Which  ofiQces  were   evermore  had  in 
such  reverend  estimation,  that  no  man  might  pre- 
sume to  execute  any  of  them,  except  he  were  first 
called,  tried,  examined  and  known  to  have  such 
qualities  as  are  requisite  to  the  same  ;  and  also, 
by  public  prayer,  with  imposition  of  hands,  were 
approved  and  admitted  thereunto  by  lawful  au- 
thority.    And  therefore,  to  the  intent  that  these 
orders  may  be  continued  and  reverently  used  and 
esteemed  in  this  Church,  no  man  shall  be  accounted 
or  taken  to  be  a  lawful  bishop,  priest,  or  deacon, 
in  this  Church,  or  suffered  to  execute  any  of  the 
said  functions,  except  he  be  called,  tried,  exam- 
ined and  admitted  thereunto  according  to  the  form 
hereafter  following,  or  hath  had  Episcopal  conse- 
cration or  ordination." 

This  Preface,  it  will  be  seen,  settles  for  us  sev- 
eral points  : 

First :  that  ''from  the  Apostles'  time  there  have 
been  in  Christ's  Church  three  orders  of  ministers, 
14 


2IO  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

bishop,  presbyters  and  deacons.''  It  says  not, 
"from  Christ's  time,''  but,  "from  the  Apostles' 
time."  The  essential  fact  and  being  of  a  ministry 
it  receives  from  Christ  Himself,  as  left  by  Him  "  in 

His  Church."    But  the  distribution  of  this  ministry 

t/ 

into  three  orders,  and  three  only,  it  traces  no  far- 
ther back  than  to  the  Apostles.  Christ  put  His 
One  commission  upon  them  ;  and  they  distributed 
that  commission  among  three  orders  of  ministers. 
In  what  this  distribution  consisted,  what  special 
powers  or  prerogatives  were  assigned  to  each  of 
those  three  orders,  and  whether  any  of  those  pow- 
ers or  prerogatives  were  confined  exclusively  to 
any  one  of  those  three  orders — these  are  points 
which  the  Preface  does  not  touch.  It  merely  as- 
serts the  fact  of  such  a  distribution,  and  the  exist- 
ence of  this  fact  in  the  Church  "  from  the  Apostles' 
time." 

Second  :  that  for  the  exercise  of  any  office  under 
this  three-fold  ministry,  it  was  "  evermore"  neces- 
sary that  the  incumbent  should  be  "tried,"  found 
possessed  of  "the  requisite  qualifications,"  and 
"admitted  by  lawful  authority."  Where  this  law- 
ful authority  was  primarily  lodged,  when  the  min- 
isterial commission  passed  from  the  Apostles' 
hands,  is  also  a  point  which  the  Preface  touches 
not ;  it  merely  decides,  inferentially,  that  any  en- 
trance into  this  threefold  ministry,  save  by  the 


ON  THE  MINISTRY.  2 1 1 

door  of  such  lawful  authority,  was  "evermore" 
held  to  be  irregular  and  presumptuous. 

Third:   that,   "in  this  Church,''  the  three-fold 
ministry  shall  be  perpetuated,  and  that  the  only 
lawful  way  of  entrance  into  any  of  its  three  orders, 
shall  be  through  our  prescribed  forms  of  trial  and 
of  ordination  by  bishops,  or  through  some  other 
equivalent  Episcopal  acts.    Here  Episcopacy  comes 
out  as  our  unalterable  regimen.     The  Preface  says, 
not  that  a  trine   ministry  must,  to  the    exclusion 
of  every  other  form,  be  perpetuated  in  Christ's 
Church,  or  in  the  Church,  as  necessary  to  its  being, 
but  that  such  a  ministry  shall,  as  a  fact,  be  per- 
petuated "  in  THIS  Church  ;"  not  that  there  is  no  pos- 
sible way  of  entering  into  the  ministry  of  Christ's 
Church,  or  of  the  Church,  save  through  our  forms 
of  trial  and  ordination,  or  their  equivalents,  but, 
that  there  shall  be  no  other  lawful  way  of  entering 
into  the  ministry  of  "  this  Church."     In  both  these 
places  that  little  word  "  this,"  is  brimful  of  mean- 
ing and  importance.     In  the  first  paragraph  of  the 
Preface  occurs  the  phrase  "  Christ's  Church  ;"  in 
the   second   paragraph,    twice  occurs   the   phrase 
"  this  Church  ;"  and  the  question  naturally  arises, 
Does  the  Preface,  in  its  second  paragraph,  mean 
by  the  phrase,  "  this  Church,"  what  it  means,  in 
its    first    paragraph,    by   the    phrase    "  Christ's 
Church  ?"     I  answer,  it  does  not,  and  cannot,  mean 


2  12  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

the  same.  If,  by  ''  this  Church, '^  the  Preface  had 
simply  intended  to  repeat  the  terms,  ''  Christ's 
Church,'^  it  would  declare,  what  our  Ecclesiastical 
authority  has  never  elsewhere  declared,  and  what, 
until  we  lose  our  Protestantism,  that  authority  can 
never  be  made  to  declare,  viz :  that,  without  an 
Episcopacy,  there  can  be  no  ministry  in  the  Church 
of  Christ.  Let  us,  for  a  moment,  put  the  Preface 
in  this  form.  ''In  Christ's  Church  there  have  been 
always  and  everywhere,  bishops,  priests,  and  dea- 
cons ;  and,  therefore,  it  is  decreed  that,  in  this 
Church,  this  Church  of  Christ,  no  man  shall  be 
accounted  a  lawful  bishop,  priest,  or  deacon,  or  be 
suffered  to  execute  any  of  the  said  functions,  unless 
he  be  called,  tried,  examined,  and  admitted  thereto 
according  to  our  form,  or  some  other  Episcopal 
mode  of  ordination."  We  can  see  at  once  that 
this  would  make  our  Church  declare,  authorita- 
tively, that  there  is,  and  ever  has  been,  no  Chris- 
tian ministry,  except  such  as  has  been  Episco- 
pally  ordained ;  and  that  none  but  such  shall 
be  suffered  to  officiate  m  the  Church  of  Christ 
in  any  part  of  the  world  ;  a  decision  which  would 
not  only  make  her,  in  theory,  unchurch  a  consider- 
able part  of  Christendom,  but  also,  in  practice, 
pledge  herself  to  carry  out  the  unchurching  edict 
with  a  relentless  vengeance,  and  this,  too,  after 
having  formally  acknowledged,  in  her  Preface  to 


ON  THE  MimSTRT.  2 1 3 

the  "  Book  of  Common  Prayer,'^  that  Non-Episco- 
pal ''denominations"  are  "Churches,"  and  have 
''  full  and  equal  liberty  "  with  herself  "  to  model 
and  organize  their  respective  Churches  and  forms 
of  worship  and  discipline,  in  such  manner  as  they 
may  judge  most  convenient  for  their  prosperity." 
The  truth  is,  that  this  Preface  to  the  ordinal,  after 
asserting  the  fact  that  there  ever  have  been  three 
orders  of  ministers  in  the  Church,  since  the  Apos- 
tles' time,  goes  on  to  say  and  to  intend,  no  more 
than  this:  that,  in  this  "Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  in  the  United  States  of  America,"  in  this 
Church,  for  which  the  following  ordinal  has  been 
drawn  up — the  ministry  shall  always  retain  the, 
three  orders  of  "bishops,  presbyters,  and  dea- 
cons." Any  man  may  hold,  as  a  matter  of  private 
opinion,  that  there  never  was,  and  never  can  be, 
any  Christian  ministry  without  bishops  ;  but  our 
Church,  in  this  Preface  to  her  ordinal,  teaches  no 
such  thing,  and  never  can  be  made  to  teach  such  a 
thing,  so  long  as  she  remains  Protestant. 

Fourth  :  that,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  there  has,  ever 
since  the  Apostles'  time,  been  a  trine  ministry  in 
the  Church,  the  Preface  declares  it  to  be  "  evident 
to  all  men  diligently  reading  holy  Scripture  and 
ancient  authors."  And  this  is  a  declaration  to 
which  I  very  heartily  assent.  The  fact  asserted 
is,  I  think,  evident  to  all  diligent  readers  of  those 


214  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

olden  records.  The  Preface  says,  not  that  this 
evidence  runs  back  unto  Christ,  but  that  it  runs 
back  to  "the  Apostles;"  and  that  this  evidence 
lies  not  in  the  Scripture  alone,  but  in  ''the  Scrip- 
tures and  ancient  authors."  And  I  confess  that  I 
cannot  impeach  the  Preface  of  a  want  of  reason- 
ableness in  what  it  says.  The  fact  is  reasonabl}^ 
evident  to  all  who  thus  read  the  testimonies  cited. 
Though  the  Scriptures  alone  may  not  "  evi- 
dence "  this  fact  to  demonstration,  yet,  "diligently 
read,"  they  show,  by  no  equivocal  marks,  the  pro- 
gress which  the  Apostles  made  in  the  trine  dis- 
tribution of  the  ministerial  office.  Taking  its  full 
.commission  directly  from  Christ  Himself,  one  of 
their  early  acts  was,  by  prayer  and  the  laying  on 
of  hands,  to  ordain  a  company  of  deacons,  "  men 
of  honest  report  and  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and 
wisdom."  Another,  of  subsequent  and  more  fre- 
quent occurrence,  was  the  "ordaining  of  elders," 
or  presbj^ters.  And  still  another  was  the  occa- 
sional appointment,  as  in  the  cases  of  Timothy  and 
Titus,  of  general  supervisors  over  territories  of 
greater  or  less  extent,  who,  whatever  the  powers 
or  duties  of  the  other  orders  may  have  been,  cer- 
tainly had  for  themselves  that  of  ordaining  to  the 
ministry.  Thus  much  is  plain  on  the  very  face  of 
the  Scriptures,  Whoever  will  "diligently  read'' 
them,  will  see  that  they  make  these  things  "  evi- 


ON  THE  MINISTB  Y.  215 

dent."  There  must  be  a. strange  slowness  to  see, 
or  a  stranger  dullness  to  read  evidence,  if  thus 
much  become  not  patent  on  a  careful  perusal 
of  the  New  Testament.  The  evidence  of  what 
has  been  stated  cannot  reasonably  be  put  out 
of  sight  or  cross-questioned  into  self-contradic- 
tion. 

And  then,  passing  from  the  latest  Scriptures,  as 
the  Writings  of  the  Apostles,  to  the  earliest  of 
the  ''  ancient  authors,"  those  who  began  to  live 
before  the  last  of  the  Apostles  died — Clement  of 
Kome,  Poly  carp  of  Smyrna,  and  Ignatius  of  An- 
tioch — another  thing  is  evident  to  all  who  "dili- 
gently read  "  them,  which  is,  that  to  the  three 
orders  which  we  have  seen  the  Apostles  arranging 
in  the  distribution  of  the  ministry,  these  "  ancient 
authors  "  gave  distinctive  names.  Whatever  vary- 
ing: names  had  been  used  before,  or  however  inter- 
changeably  some  of  those  names  may,  at  first,  have 
been  applied,  these  "  ancient  authors "  had,  in 
their  day,  settled  upon  three  ;  and,  having  done 
so,  used  them  with  fixed  and  uncha.ngeable  appli- 
cation. They  uniformly  called  those  three  grades 
"Bishops,  Presbyters,  and  Deacons."  They  speak 
of  those  three  grades  under  these  distinctively 
applied  names,  as  one  of  the  patent,  out-standing 
facts  of  their  time  ;  and  one  of  them,  Ignatius, 
expressly  declares   that  ''  there   was   no  Church 


2i6  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

without  them ;"  [Ep.  ad  Trail,  Apostol.  Fath., 
First  Am.  Ed.,  N.  Y.,  1810,  p.  207]  in  other 
words,  that,  in  all  the  Churches  then  known,  there 
were  Bishops,  Presbyters,  and  Deacons.  Let  any 
candid  man  "diligently  read"  the  brief  epistles 
of  these  three  "ancient  authors,"  and  I  think  it 
will  be  impossible  for  him  to  doubt  their  views  of 
the  Christian  ministry  as  apostolically  distributed 
and  settled.  Manifestly,  no  shadow  of  doubt  rests 
on  the  point.  These  authors  cast  the  light  of  a 
credible  testimony  back  on  the  Scriptures,  render- 
ing unconcealably  "evident"  the  fact,  that  the 
ministry,  as  arranged  by  the  Apostles,  was  three- 
fold, and  that  its  three  grades  had,  in  their  day, 
come  to  be  distinctively  and  fixedly  known  by  the 
names  of  "Bishops,  Presbyters,  and  Deacons."  This 
is  what  the  Preface  to  our  ordinal  asserts  ;  the 
"  evidentness  "  of  this  fact  to  all  "diligent  read- 
ers "  of  those  olden  records — an  evidentness  which 
needs  no  argument  to  make  it  strike  the  eye.  And 
this,  with  the  other  teachings  of  the  Preface,  makes 
up  the  confession  of  faith,  on  which  I  am  prepared 
to  stand,  and  which  I  here  present  instead  of  any 
long  array  of  argument  on  the  subject  of  the  Chris- 
tian ministry.  I  abstain  from  this  argument,  not 
because  its  difficulties  would  be  embarrassing,  but 
because  one  aim  in  this  whole  discussion  is  to 
avoid  whatever  might  have  the  appearance  of  an 


OK  THE  MINISTRY. 


217 


intrusion  within  the  general  department  of  Eccle- 
siastical Polity. 

I  close  the  present  Chapter  by  stating  and  briefly 
answering  two  questions,  which  may  arise  out  of 
what  has  been  said. 

(1.)  If  the  Apostles  distributed  the  ministry 
which  they  received  into  three  orders  ;  and  if  their 
immediate  successors  received  these  three  orders 
as  the  Apostolically  arranged  model  of  the  ministry  ; 
why  do  you  not  admit  that  this  form  of  ministry  is 
essential  to  the  Being  of  the  Church  ;  insomuch  that 
bodies,  destitute  of  this  form  of  ministry,  do  not 
belong  to  the  Church  ? 

To  this  question  I  reply  ;  I  do  not  regard  this 
form  of  the  minitry  as  esssential  to  the  being  of  the 
Church,  first :  because  the  Preface  to  our  ordinal 
does  not  trace  the  threefold  character  of  the  minis- 
try to  Christ.  It  traces  the  distribution  no  farther 
back  than  to  the  Apostles.  Second  :  because  the 
Apostles  themselves  do  not  make  it  demonstrably 
certain  that  this  threefold  distribution  was  design- 
ed, by  divine  right,  to  confine  the  power  of  or- 
dination to  the  FIRST  grade,  so  that  ordination  by 
the  second  should,  of  itself,  be  null.  And  third : 
because  some  of  the  greatest  writers,  both  Roman- 
ist and  Protestant,  have  conceded  that  this  power 
was  not  thus  restricted  by  either  Christ  or  His 


2i8  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE, 

Apostles.  On  this  last  point  in  the  answer,  a  few 
references  will  not  be  out  of  place. 

Dr.  Cosin,  then,  to  whom  reference  has  already 
been  made,  as  one  of  the  most  strenuous  advocates 
of  Episcopacy,  writes  thus:  "I  conceive  that  the 
power  of  ordination  was  restrained  to  Bishops  rath- 
er  by  Apostolical  practice  and  the  perpetual  custom 
and  canons  of  the  Church,  than  by  any  absolute 
precept  that  either  Christ  or  His  Apostles  gave 
about  it.  Nor  can  I  yet  meet  with  any  convincing 
argument  to  set  it  upon  a  more  high  and  divine  in- 
stitution  There  have  been,"  he  adds,  "both 

learned  and  eminent  men,  as  well  in  former  ages  as 
in  this,  and  even  among  the  Roman  Catholics  as 
well  as  Protestants,  who  have  held  and  maintained 
it  for  good  and  passable  divinity,  that  presbyters 
have  the  intrinsical  power  of  ordination  in  actu  pri- 
ma ;"  although,  as  he  proceeds  to  say,  in  substance, 
"  for  the  avoidance  of  schism,  and  the  preserving 
of  order  and  discipline  in  the  Church,'^  they  have 
from  the  tirst  "been  restrained  from  exercising 
their  power  in  actu  secundof'  ^o  that,  now,  the  ex- 
ercise of  their  power  is  irregular  and  uncanonical, 
though  "not  void  simply "  in  itself  "and  in  the 
nature  of  the  thing."  [Letter  to  Cordel.  Hooker's 
Col.  Phila.  1844.  Pp.  230,  232,  233.]  For  this 
opinion  he  cites  a  catalogue  of  eminent  Continen- 
tal  authors,  both   Romish   and   Protestant  j  and, 


ON  THE  MimSTRY.  219 

among  the  great  lights  of  the  English  Church, 
Jewel,  Field,  Hooker  and  Mason. 

Such,  then,  in  addition  to  what  runs  through  my 
whole  argument,  are  ray  reasons  for  not  regarding 
the  Episcopal  form  of  the  ministry  as  essential  to 
the  being  of  the  Church. 

(2.)  Why,  then,  do  you  receive  and  retain  this 
form  of  the  ministry  ?  If  it  be  not  essential,  why 
do  you  not  relinquish  it,  and  thus  be  rid  of  one  of 
the  impediments  in  the  way  of  a  wider  union 
among  Protestants? 

To  this  question  I  reply  :  I  do  not  relinquish  this 
form  of  the  ministry  because  the  Apostles,  in  mak- 
ing this  threefold  distribution,  acted  as  Christ's 
chosen  agents,  and  in  the  exercise  of  the  peculiar 
wisdom,  which,  doubtless,  they  derived  from  Him. 
The  three  orders,  therefore,  as  to  the  fact  of  them, 
have  the  virtual  approval  of  Christ.  The  fact  of 
an  Episcopacy,  though  not  the  extraordinary  pow- 
ers, with  which  some  would  invest  it,  has,  ultimate- 
ly, the  approval  of  the  divine  Head  of  the  Church. 
Although,  therefore,  a  real  necessit}^  may  have  de- 
prived some  Christian  bodies  of  the  Episcopacy, 
without  thereby  putting  them  out  of  the  visible 
Church,  yet,  a  needless,  voluntary  relinquishment 
of  this  form  of  the  miaistry  constitutes  one  of  the 
forms  of  the  fearful  evil  of  schism.  It  breaks  the 
order  and  discii^line  of  the  Church,  and  hazards 


220  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

deeply  much  that  is  precious  in  the  temporal  and 
spiritual  well-being  of  the  visible  body  of  Christ. 
The  Episcopac}^,  though  not  essential  to  the  very 
being  of  the  Church,  may  yet  be  demonstrated  by 
facts,  as  well  as  by  arguments,  to  be  important  to 
the  best  welfare  of  the  Church.  Therefore  it  is, 
to  say  nothing  of  other  reasons,  that  I  do  not  re- 
linquish the  Episcopacy.  Such  an  act,  in  me,  would 
be  a  reckless  wounding  of  the  Saviour  in  the  house 
of  His  friends. 


CHAPEER  II. 


GOVERNMENT. 


IN  treating  of  the  wELL-being  of  the  visible 
Church,  the  subject  of  government  may,  with 
propriety,  be  considered  as  following  next  to  that 
of  the  MINISTRY.  In  entering  on  this  subject  of 
Church  government,  however,  I  wish  to  premise 
that  I  hope  to  discuss  it  in  such  a  way  as  not  to 
trench  on  the  labors  of  those  who  are,  or  may  be 
your  teachers  in  the  general  study  of  Ecclesiastical 
Polity. 

That  there  is  such  a  thing  as  government  in  the 
visible  Church,  I  need  not  argue.  Government  is 
as  necessary  to  the  well-being  of  the  Church  as  it  is 
to  that  of  the  State  ;  and  the  Word  of  God  recogni- 
zes the  fact,  as  well  as  the  necessity,  of  this  institute 
in  the  former  as  distinctly  as  in  the  latter.  The 
Apostle's  words,  Heb.  13  :  17  :  "Obey  them  that 
have  the  rule  over  you,  and  submit  yourselves," 
refer,  not  to  Civil  but  to  Ecclesiastical  rule  ;  for, 
of  those  who  hold  this  rule,  he  immediately  adds  : 
"  they  watch  for  your  souls  as  they  that  must  give 

(231) 


2  22  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

account."  Civil  rulers  watch  not  for  souls  ;  this 
watch  is  peculiar  to  rulers  in  the  Church. 

The  language  of  the  Apostle,  moreover,  refers  to 
lawful,  constituted  rule  ;  not  to  rule  accidentally  ac- 
quired, or  arbitrarily  assumed.  Those  who  hold  this 
rule,  hold  it  rightly  ;  as  a  rule,  which  the  members 
of  the  Church  may  be  called  upon  to  "obey."  As 
we  saw  in  the  last  Chapter,  "God  hath  set'Miis 
ministry  "in  the  Church."  The  institution  itself 
of  a  Christian  ministry  is  divine  ;  as  emphatically 
so,  as  that  of  civil  government.  If,  in  the  State, 
"  the  powers  that  be  are  ordained  of  God,"  so  es- 
pecially are  they  in  the  Church. 

But  the  rule  here  mentioned  is  vested,  not  in 
one,  but  in  several.  "Obey" — not  him,  but — 
"them  that  have  this  rule."  The  plain  inference 
from  this  is — that,  when  Paul  wrote,  there  was  no 
one,  recognized,  temporal  head  of  the  Church.  Its 
government  was  then  vested  in  a  greater  or  less 
number  of  rulers. 

When  we  inquire  further,  however,  whether  the 
rule  here  recognized  was  vested  in  an  order  of 
ministers  of  superior  grade,  having  under  them 
ministers  of  lower  grades,  and  governing  the 
Churches  under  their  care  according  to  Christ's 
laws,  as  in  an  Episcopacy  ;  or  was  vested  in  a 
ministry,  constituted  on  the  principle  of  parity, 
having  no  inferior  grades,  and  ruling  the  Churches 


GOVERNMENT. 


223 


by  their  joint  counsels  ;  as  in  Presbyterianism  ;  or 
was  vested  in  each  separate  and  equal  pastor,  rul- 
ing his  own  charge  as  a  virtually  independent 
Church  ;  as  in  Congregationalism  :  the  Apostle's 
words  do  not  decide.  They  simply  decide  that 
there  is,  in  the  Church,  a  divinely  constituted  gov- 
ernment ;  and  that  this  government  was  administer- 
ed— not  by  one,  but — by  a  plurality  of  ministers. 
Our  claim  is  that,  "from  the  Apostles'  time,"  the 
ruling  ministry  of  the  Church  has,  as  a  matter  of 
prevailing  fact,  had  its  base  on  an  Episcopal  plat- 
form ;  and  my  purpose,  in  the  present  Chapter,  is, 
to  examine  some  of  the  chief  advantages  of  an 
Episcopacy  in  the  discipline  of  the  Church  of 
Christ,  in  promoting  the  WELL-being  of  this  visible 
Body  of  our  as  yet  Invisible  Head. 

Before  entering,  however,  on  this  examination, 
I  wish  to  throw  off  from  the  subject  certain  extra- 
neous matters,  by  which  it  would  be  embarrassed. 

Connected,  then,  with  the  Christian  ministry,  and 
originating  in  some  fruitful  source,  there  has,  doubt- 
less, been  a  tendency  to  augment  its  true  power, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  to  diminish  the  just  influence 
of  the  popular  element  in  the  Church  :  while,  on 
the  contrary,  there  has  been,  in  connection  with 
the  popular  element,  and  originating  in  some  simi- 
lar source,  a  tendency  to  enlarge  its  proper  sphere 
of  activity  and  to  diminish  the  just  influence  of  the 


2  24  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE, 

ministry.  What  we  have  heard  of  the  usurpations 
of  the  Priesthood  on  the  one  hand,  and  what  we 
have  seen  of  popular  extravagances  on  the  other, 
render  illustrations  of  this  remark  needless.  It  is 
more  important  to  observe  that,  as  to  their  fruitful 
source,  both  tendencies  have  sprung — not  out  of 
the  Christian  ministry  itself,  nor  out  of  the  true 
genius  of  a  Christian  people,  but  out  of  a  corrupt 
human  nature,  and  the  circumstances  in  which  it 
has  been  placed  :  and  that,  under  these  circum- 
stances, those  tendencies  would  have  developed 
themselves  under  any  form  which  the  ministry 
could  have  assumed  ;  and  under  any  type,  short 
of  a  vastly  higher  sanctification,  into  which  a  Chris- 
tian people  could  have  been  molded. 

Again :  looking  at  Episcopacy,  as  the  Apostolical 
constitution  of  the  ministry,  we  see  that  the  later 
power  of  the  Papacy,  on  the  one  hand,  has  tended 
to  degrade  Bishops  below  their  primitive  rank  of 
equality  with  each  other  ;  while,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  popular  element  has  tended  to  annihilate  the 
Episcopal  office  itself.  But,  neither  with  these  ten- 
dencies have  I  now  any  concern,  save  to  disembar- 
rass my  subject  of  them  at  the  outset.  They  are 
the  tendencies  of  our  corrupt  nature  under  the 
the  circumstances  of  which  History  takes  note,  and 
not  of  a  true  Episcopacy  or  of  a  Christian  People 
in  themselves  considered.     In  treating  the  subject, 


GOVERNMENT.  225 

I  must  be  allowed  to  rid  myself  of  everything  that 
belongs  not  properly  and  strictly  to  it.  This  sub- 
ject has  nothing  to  do  with  a  Church  monarchy  as 
in  Italy  ;  nor  with  a  titled  Prelacy  as  in  England  ; 
nor  with  corrupt  and  worldly  Bishops,  as  in  va- 
rious countries  ;  much  less  with  here  and  there  a 
monster  under  a  mitre,  such  as  has  occasionally 
been  seen.  These  things  belong  not  to  Episcopacy 
itself ;  they  are  but  the  historic  incidents  which, 
amid  the  changes  of  human  society  and  out  of  the 
workings  of  a  depraved  nature,  have  been  super- 
added to  Episcopacy.  Any  form  of  the  Christian 
ministry  in  human  hands  is  liable  to  abuse.  In 
such  hands,  Presbyterianism  and  Congregational- 
ism may  become  as  ambitious,  as  oppressive,  and 
as  corrupt  as  any  other  form  of  the  ministry. 

Why  have  we  heard  of  such  evils  in  an  Episco- 
pacy, so  much  more  frequently  than  in  any  other 
form  of  the  Christian  ministry  ?  Because,  in  all 
ages  since  the  Apostles,  and  in  all  countries  through- 
out Christendom,  the  Church  has,  for  the  most  part, 
had  an  Episcopacy  in  its  ministry.  There  has  been 
little  but  an  Episcopacy,  so  far  as  the  ministry  is 
concerned,  to  meet  and  endure  the  deforming  and 
corrupting  influences  of  human  society  and  of  his- 
toric events.  Episcopacy  has  come  down  to  us 
through  the  struggles  of  the  ages  among  the  nations 
of  the  earth.  It  has  come  down  through  near  two- 
15 


226  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

thousand  years  of  terrible  experience  ;  through  the 
disorders  which  attended  the  decline  of  the  Roman 
Empire  ;  through  the  devastations  which  tracked 
the  irruptions  of  the  Barbarian  hordes  ;  through 
the  superstitions,  heathen  in  origin,  which  sprang 
up  during  Mediaeval  darkness  ;  through  the  strange 
influences  which  molded  it  during  the  Feudal  ages 
and  under  the  Feudal  sj^stem  ;  through  the  blood 
and  fires  and  fearful  excitements  of  the  great  Ref- 
ormation ;  through  the  fierce  contests  in  England 
between  a  political  Church  Establishment,  and 
strenuous  Puritan  Dissent ;  and  finally,  in  our  own 
land,  through  the  hot  passions  and  keen  prejudices 
engendered  by  our  severance  from  foreign  rule,  as 
well  ecclesiastical  as  political.  As  the  union  of 
the  Church  with  the  State  at  the  conversion  of 
Constantine,  the  introduction  of  heathen  supersti- 
tions into  the  Christian  body,  the  power  of  the 
Feudal  system,  and  the  influence  of  the  Middle 
Ages,  generally  tended  to  corrupt  the  ancient 
Episcopacy ;  so  the  terrible  excitements  of  the 
Reformation,  of  the  Puritan  struggle,  and  of  our 
American  Revolution,  have,  doubtless,  tended  to 
confirm  those  corruptions,  on  the  principle  that 
what  is  fiercely  and  bloodily  assailed,  seeks,  as 
men  are  naturally  constituted,  to  defend  and  pre- 
serve itself ;  and  thereby  takes  deeper  root  in  the 
soil  from  which  its  eradication  is  sought.     Into  all 


GOVERNMENT.  227 

these  dreadful  strifes  and  changes,  then,  of  the  ages 
and  nations  of  Christendom,  springing,  as  they  have, 
out  of  the  all- controlling  movements  of  the  world, 
Episcopacy  has  been  carried  by  the  resistless  cur- 
rent on  which  all  human  things  have  been  borne. 
Those  strifes  and  changes  mark  the  steps  in  the 
slow,  sublime  movements  of  Christian  civilization 
towards  a  higher  and  more  perfect  ideal.  They 
have,  doubtless,  stamped  on  the  character  and  in- 
stitutions of  men  some  dark  lines  and  features,  so 
deep  that  centuries  have  not  yet  been  able  entirely 
to  wear  them  out ;  and  I  think  it  safe  to  say  that 
any  form  of  the  Christian  ministry,  coming  down 
through  the  same  long  ages,  and  through  the  same 
strange  series  of  changes  and  of  influences,  would 
have  developed  evils  and  abuses,  if  not  identical, 
at  least  equal  with  those  which  have  been  exhibi- 
ted in  the  descent  of  the  ancient  Episcopacy  to  our 
times.  Under  any  other  constitution  of  the  minis- 
try nothing  could  have  prevented  the  result  but 
Pentecostal  displays  of  grace,  perpetuated  from 
age  to  age,  and  making  the  Church  the  resistless 
molder  of  the  world's  character,  instead  of  leaving 
the  world  to  act  in  reality  as  a  potent  modifier  of 
the  character  of  the  Church  ;  and  with  such  Pente- 
costal displays  of  grace,  had  God  seen  lit  to  vouch- 
safe them,  the  ancient  Episcopacy  itself  would  have 
come  down  uuabused,  unharmed  ;  and  the  outcry 


228  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

from  the  mouth  of  the  world,  and  the  record  from 
the  pen  of  history  against  the  abuses  to  which  it 
has  been  subject,  would  have  been  unheard,  un- 
written. From  the  close  of  the  Second  to  that  of 
the  Eighteenth  Century,  Episcopacy  has  been  sub- 
jected to  the  severest  of  tests,  and  carried  through 
the  most  pernicious  of  influences.  During  the  reign 
of  those  long  ages,  it  was  never,  as  a  whole,  in  a 
position  favorable  to  the  development  of  its  true 
character,  and  to  the  exertion  of  its  true  power, 
uncorrupt  and  unfettered. 

We  must,  therefore,  set  aside  from  the  subject 
all  the  considerations  to  which  I  have  adverted, 
and  look  at  Episcopacy  in  its  own  proper  charac- 
ter, as  a  constitution  of  the  Christian  ministry  on 
the  basis  of  an  imparity  of  orders,  and  securing  to 
the  highest  of  those  orders — not  the  whole,  but — a 
high  place  of  rule  in  the  Church.  We  must  look 
at  Episcopacy  as  it  ought  to  be,  as  it  was  designed 
to  be,  and  as  in  various  times  and  places  it  has 
been  ;  humble  and  holy,  world-renouncing  and  la- 
borious, and  amid  all,  ruling  the  Church  according 
to  Christ's  laws.  I  say,  ''according  to  Christ's 
laws  ;"  for,  though  the  Church  has  power  to  make 
other  regulations  for  the  outward  order  of  worship, 
for  the  transaction  of  business,  and  for  the  man- 
agement of  temporalities,  provided  these  regula- 
tions are  harmonious,  or  not  inconsistent  with  the 


GOVERN'MENT.  229 

Scriptures,  yet,  any  government,  whether  in  Epis- 
copal or  in  other  hands,  which  attempts  to  rule 
the  Church  in  spiritual  matters,  on  the  basis  of  an}^ 
other  laws  than  those  which  Christ  has  left,  is  a 
usurpation  and  a  tyranny,  unlawful  in  the  sight  of 
God.  I  repeat,  then,  we  must  look  at  Episcopacy 
as  it  ought  to  be,  as  it  was  designed  to  be,  and  as 
it  often  has  been  ;  imbued  with  the  mind  of  Christ, 
and  ruling  the  Church  according  to  the  laws  of 
Christ.  It  is  no  more  than  right  to  look  at  a  thing 
in  itself,  separate  from  the  abuses  of  which  it  has 
incidentally  been  the  subject.  When  they  fall  into 
wicked  hands,  the  best  things  have  the  worst  abuses. 
Hence  that  best  of  rales,  ''do  all  to  the  glory  of 
God,''  has  been  made  practically  to  sanctify  the 
most  dreadful  enormities  ;  even  to  the  blood  and 
fires,  the  racks  and  brain-destroying  tortures  of  the 
Inquisition ! 

In  proceeding  now  to  the  subject  of  this  Chapter, 
I  do  not  propose  to  treat  it  in  all  its  details,  but 
shall  confine  myself  to  what  I  consider  the  two 
main  functions  of  the  Christian  ministry,  viz. :  to 
rule  the  Church  by  the  Discipline  of  Order,  and 
to  guide  the  Church  by  the  Discipline  of  Truth. 
These  two,  Scriptural  Order  and  Scriptural  Teach- 
ing, are  of  prime  importance  to  the  WELL-being  of 
the  Church. 


230  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

I.  First,  then,  let  us  look  at  Episcopacy  as  a 
Discipline  of  Oeder  : 

In  the  visible  Church,  government  is  a  necessary 
function.  Although  no  one  form  or  constitution  of 
government  can  be  used  as  a  mark  by  which  to 
determine  the  comprehension  of  the  Church,  yet  as 
visible,  no  part  of  the  Church  has  ever  been  without 
some  such  form,  or  constitution.  The  very  fact  of 
an  ecclesiastical  organization  implies  the  existence, 
and  rests  on  the  necessity,  of  government  in  the 
Church. 

The  main  advantage  of  a  simple  Episcopacy,  as 
a  Discipline  of  Order,  becomes  manifest  in  its 
UNITING  power.  In  his  true  character,  a  bishop  ap- 
pears— not  as  a  mere  man  in  the  ministry,  who,  by 
peculiar  personal  qualities,  or  by  some  accidental 
circumstances,  has  acquired  superior  influence,  and 
is  thus,  perhaps,  an  object  of  jealousy  or  of  envy, 
but — as  the  regularly  constituted  and  cheerfully 
acknowledged  superior  of  the  clergy  and  people 
under  his  care.  By  their  own  choice  he  should  be, 
and  in  our  country  he  is,  in  an  office  which  they, 
regard  as  having  come  down  from  the  Apostles, 
and  around  which,  therefore,  cluster  their  best  sen- 
timents of  filial  reverence  and  deferential  regard. 
Their  submission  to  his  lawful  rule  is  cordial ;  free, 
so  far  as  our  earthly  lot  will  admit,  from  the  human 
feelings  of  jealousy  and  envy.     In  this  character 


GOVERNMENT.  231 

the  Episcopacy  tends  not  to  degrade  the  lower  or- 
ders of  the  ministry,  for  they  are  its  main  helps  in 
laboring  for  Christ ;  nor  to  depress  the  just  influ- 
ence of  the  popular  element,  for  on  that  it  depends 
for  concurrence  and  efficiency  in  those  labors  ;  but 
simply  to  act  as  a  uniting  bond  to  both  clergy  and 
people  ;  enforcing  the  rules  of  law  and  administer- 
ing the  discipline  of  law,  fraternally  and  wisely  ; 
allaying  dissentions  and  composing  strifes,  with  the 
best  prospects  of  cheerful  acquiescence  from  both, 
and  of  keeping  the  whole  body  from  the  extremes 
of  clerical  encroachment,  on  the  one  hand,  and  of 
popular  excess  on  the  other.     The  best  interests, 
as  well  as  the  high  duty  of  such  an  Episcopacy,  lie 
in  the  harmony,  peace  and  love  of  the  whole  body 
of  ministers  and  people  under  its  care.    Ambitions, 
usurpations,  stretches  of  power,  are  possible  evils  : 
but  they  are  possible  under  all  systems  in  the 
hands  of  men  ;  and  would  be  as  possible  in  a  De- 
mocracy of  the  Church  as  they  are  found  actually 
to  be  in  a  Democracy  of  the  State.     They  are  the 
evils  of  our  nature  ;  and  no  system  can  be  kept 
wholly  safe  from  their  entrance.     A  simple,  primi- 
tive Episcopacy  is  doubtless  as  safe  from  them  as 
any  system,  committed  to  the  guardianship  of  men  ; 
while  its  power  to  promote  harmony,  peace  and 
love  in  obedience  to  venerable   and  constituted 
*'rule,''  is  manifold  greater  than  that  of  any  other. 


232  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

The  objection  to  this  view,  that  the  testimony 
of  history  is  adverse  to  it ;  that,  according  to  this 
testimony,  Episcopacy,  from  its  own  tendency, 
developed  itself  into  the  ambitions  and  usurpa- 
tions and  despotism  of  the  Papacy,  appears  to  me 
without  weight.     Let  us  look  at  this  a  little  further. 

What  first  transformed  a  simple,  primitive  bishop 
into  an  archbishop,  the  archbishop  into  a  patriarch, 
and,  finally,  the  patriarch  into  a  pope  ?  Not,  as  I 
apprehend,  the  inherent  tendency  of  the  ancient 
Episcopacy  itself,  but  the  adventitious  circum- 
stances with  which  it  became  needlessly  impli-. 
cated.  It  is  inconsistent  with  my  plan  to  enter 
at  large  into  the  history  of  that  development ; 
but  I  think  it  would  be  easy  to  demonstrate,  from 
recorded  facts,  the  following  brief  summar}' : 

The  development  of  the  Papacy,  it  may  be  ad- 
mitted, commenced  at  a  ver}^  early  period  under 
those  worldly  and  corrupting  influences  which, 
flowing  in  upon  the  Church  from  the  ancient  hea- 
thenism, and  then  acting  both  upon  Christian  doc- 
trine and  upon  ecclesiastical  polity,  exaggerating 
the  mystery  of  sacraments,  and  abusing  the  prin- 
ciple of  a  voluntary  support  to  the  ministry  into 
a  hoarding  of  enormous  wealth  to  the  Church, 
prepared  the  way  for  all  that  followed.  The 
process,  however,  was  mightily  accelerated  by  the 
accession  of  Constantine  the  Great  to  the  throne. 


GOVERNMENT.  233 

and  his  real  or  pre  tended,  conversion  to  Christian- 
ity ;  and  it  was  peculiarly  favored  by  his  subse- 
quent transfer  of  the  imperial  government  from 
Rome  to  Constantinople.  That  transfer  was  fatal 
not  only  to  the  State  but  also  to  the  Church.  While 
the  imperial  head  was  busy  at  his  new  and  distant 
Capital,  it  left  the  ecclesiastical  aspirant  at  Rome 
comparatively  free  to  avail  himself  of  the  immense 
advantages  which  he  found  in  the  old  metropolis 
of  the  world  for  pushing,  unobserved  and  unop- 
posed, his  subtle  scheme  of  spiritual  despotism. 
Moreover,  at  his  conversion,  Constantine  had 
brought  in,  not  exactly  the  modern  union  of 
Church  and  State,  but  a  sort  of  heathen  patron- 
age of  the  Church  by  the.  State.  As  was  natural 
in  his  circumstauces,  he  adopted  Christianity  as 
the  religion  of  his,  in  the  main,  still  unconverted 
Empire,  and  sought  to  make  himself  to  religion  in 
the  State  what  the  bishop  was  to  religion  in  the 
Church.  That  political  patronage  was,  not  in  the 
imperial  intention,  but  in  its  perverted  use,  the 
great  misfortune  of  the  Christian  ages.  Yet  it 
was  a  misfortune,  incurred,  not  from  the  inherent 
tendency  of  the  ancient  Episcopacy,  but  from  the 
abused  policy  of  an  emperor,  hardly  disenthralled 
from  his  once  dark  bondage  under  heathenism. 
One  of  the  worst  evils  of  the  misfortune  lay  in 
this,  that  it  gave  opportunity  to  the   intensified 


2,.  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE, 

working  of  the  corrupting  power  already  in  action. 
Thenceforward,  as  the  long  ages  rolled  by,  the 
political  influences  of  the  State,  co-operating  with 
those  of  the  Church,  both  working  in  all  the  great 
cities  of  Christendom,  especially  in  its  powerful 
metropolis,  and  both  instigated  by  the  supersti- 
tions which  had  been  previously  engendered  of 
heathen  darkness,  favored  the  rapid  exaggeration 
of  the  simple,  primitive  Episcopacy,  and  expedited 
the  passage  of  the  once  laborious  and  suffering 
Bishop  of  Rome,  along  his  career  from  one  grade 
and  title  to  another,  and  from  one  degree  of  politi- 
cal power  to  a  higher  ;  until,  finally,  an  office, 
which  was  at  first  held  by  a  humble  laborer  and 
sufferer  for  Christ,  came  to  be  filled  by  a  triple- 
crowned  MONARCH  of  the  Church,  to  whom  even 
emperors  were  fain  to  pay  homage. 

That  the  corruptions  of  the  Church,  to  which  I 
have  now  adverted,  were  contracted  from  the  lin- 
gering and  scarcely  latent  heathenism  of  the  Roman 
Empire,  while  becoming  and  after  it  became,  nom- 
inally Christian,  it  will  not,  I  suppose,  by  Protest- 
ants, be  denied  ;  and  that  it  was  through  these 
corraptions  that  the  simple  Episcopacy  of  elder 
times  was  gradually  perverted,  and  the  Bishop  of 
Rome  finally  enabled  to  enforce  his  claim  to  uni- 
versal jurisdiction,  is  a  truth  as  little  likely,  in 
such  quarters,    to  be  questioned.     It   was   under 


aOVEHNMENT.  235 

favor  of  those  growing  corruptions  that  the  am- 
bitious prelates  of  that  wealthy  and  powerful  city 
were  able  stretch  prerogative  after  prerogative,  to 
secure  from  weaker  prelates  concession  after  con- 
cession, and  to  take,  by  the  side  of  temporal 
princes,  step  after  step,  until  at  last  a  fortunate 
successor  reached  the  summit  at  which  his  prede- 
cessors had  been  aiming,  and  sate,  Pontifex  Maxi- 
Mus,  claiming  to  be  acknowledged  as  temporal  and 
spiritual  head  of  the  Christian  world  !  Against 
this  usurpation  many  bishops,  from  first  to  last, 
contended.  The  result  was  not  an  Episcopacy 
naturally,  or  of  its  own  innate  tendency,  develop- 
ing itself  into  a  Papacy,  but  a  pope,  finally  suc- 
ceeding, through  the  power  of  his  position,  in  lord- 
ing it  over  a  once  simple  Episcopacy. 

The  early  decay  of  scriptural  piety,  consequent 
on  the  growth  of  these  corruptions,  must  be  re- 
garded as  the  true  secret  of  his  success.  Had  the 
spirit  of  that  piety  continued  to  live,  as  in  the  first 
ages,  it  would  have  been  impossible  either  to  cor- 
rupt the  ancient  Episcopacy,  or  to  place  the  foot 
of  a  Roman  bishop  on  the  neck  of  a  subject  Chris- 
tendom. As  a  strong  corroboration  of  this,  it  may 
be  remarked  that,  so  soon  as  the  spirit  of  that 
piety,  intelligent  and  scriptural,  not  superstitious 
and  ascetic,  began  to  revive  at  the  dawn  and  the 
sunrise  of  the  Reformation,  the  usurpations  and 


236  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

prerogatives  of  the  Pope  began  to  be  questioned  ; 
that,  ultimately,  his  iron  yoke  was  broken  off 
throughout  all  Protestant  realms ;  and  that,  in 
England,  where  the  Reformation  was  conducted 
with  closest  reference  to  primitive  precedent, 
primitive  Episcopacy  at  once  came  forward,  if  not 
wholly  in  its  proper  character,  at  least  to  its 
proper  post ;  abounding  once  more  in  wondrous 
laborers  for  Christ,  and  in  wondrous  martyrs  for 
His  Truth.  The  strength  of  this  remark  is  in- 
creased by  the  fact,  that  nothing  higher  than  Epis- 
copacy was,  or  could  be,  retained  in  England, 
even  while  settling  its  ecclesiastical  affairs  under 
a  royally-favored  Protestantism.  Had  the  attempt 
been  made,  while  reforming  the  English  Church  of 
her  doctrinal  errors  and  of  her  corruptions  in  cere- 
mony, to  retain  even  the  most  modified  allegiance 
or  subordination  to  the  Papacy  in  government,  the 
religious  spirit,  which  awoke  and  lived  in  the  light 
of  the  Bible,  would  have  been  aroused  to  the  ex- 
treme of  resistance,  and  have  swept  away  not  only 
the  Papacy,  but  all  traces  of  the  Episcopacy  itself. 
The  Episcopacy  of  England  was  the  highest  point, 
which  the  waters  of  that  purifying  flood  could  have 
left  standing,  so  resistlessly  does  a  scripturally  en- 
lightened piety  set  against  everj^  form  and  modi- 
fication of  the  Papal  system. 
Moreover,  with  all  the  political  and  corrupting 


GOVERNMENT.  237 

influences,  and  with  all  the  amazing  wealth  and 
power,  which  I  have  mentioned,  and  with  which 
his  mighty  metropolis  surrounded  him,  the  Bishop 
of  Rome  did  not  succeed  in  fixing  himself  on  that 
splendid  pinnacle  of  his  ambition,  till  after  ages  of 
desperate  conflict  with  other  Bishops  of  Christen- 
dom, in  their  resistence  to  his  unscriptural  claims. 
And  even  when  he  did  finally  succeed,  in  despite 
of  such  resistance,  it  was  not  because  he  was  Bishop, 
but  because  his  see  was  Rome,  the  metropolis  of 
Christendom,— the  central  heart  of  the  wealth,  and 
power,  and,  for  a  while,  of  the  civil  influence,  of  a 
fatally  corrupted  Empire.     The  idea,  that  ancient 
bishops,  prompted    by    an    inherent   tendency  in 
their  office,  conspired    either    openly  or  secretly, 
either  consciously  or  unconsciously,  to  lift,  or  be 
the  instruments  of  lifting,  one  of  their  own  official 
equals,  step  by  step,  and  age  after  age,  to  a  throne 
and  a  tiara,  is,  to  my  mind,  the  wildest  of  chimeras. 
They  struggled   long   and    earnestly   against   the 
strides  of  a  mammoth  power,  in  which  Christian 
office  had  become  blended  with  a  strange  concen- 
tration of  all  the  baleful  influences  of  this  world. 
Suppose  that  the  Bishop  of  Rome  had  been  but  a 
presbyter  among  presbyters,  with  no  bishops  on 
earth  ;  yet,  by  virtue  of  his  position,  a  kind  of  suc- 
cessional  moderator  over  his  brethren,  a  successive 
'' Primxia  inter  ^ares,^^  or  first  among  equals;  I 


238 


THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 


hold  that  the  mighty  influences  of  the  ages,  through 
which  his  office  passed  down,  would  inevitably  have 
made  him  a  Pope,  if  not  in  name,  yet  in  fact  and 
effect.  The  truth  is  ;  in  their  real,  spiritual  inde- 
pendence, as  official  equals,  bishops  are,  and  ever 
have  been,  the  most  strenuous  opponents  of  Pop- 
ery. If,  then,  they,  with  all  the  authority  and  in- 
fluence of  their  ancient  and  venerated  office,  were 
unable  to  resist  the  strides  of  the  Politico-Eccles- 
iastical giant  in  Eome,  what  could  a  less  influential 
band  of  Church-officers  have  done  in  their  struggle 
with  that  evil  genius  of  Christianity  ?  No  :  this 
tendency  to  an  augmentation  of  power,  and  of  the 
abuses  of  power,  sprang  not  out  of  the  ancient 
Episcopacy  itself  Had  the  Church  never  been 
married  to  the  State  ;  had  political  and  pecuniary 
influence,  favored  by  the  corruptions  of  a  darkling 
age,  never  submerged  that  simple  and  primitive 
institute  in  the  depths  of  their  own  dead  sea  ;  the 
Papacy  had  never  existed.  Most  of  all  things,  and 
with  the  best  of  reasons,  the  Popes  fear  a  spiritual, 
independent  Episcopacy,  filled  with  official  equals. 
Hence,  that  partial  approach  to  such  an  Episco- 
pacy, which  the  restored  English  Church  exhibits, 
has  ever  been  an  object  of  State-jealousy  to  the 
Church  monarch  at  Rome.  Were  there  no  such 
Episcopacy  in  the  world,  Rome,  I  fear,  would  reign 
in  comparative  freedom  from  solicitude  ;  and  her 


GOVERNMENT.  239 

hope  would  sensibly  brighten  of  once  more  wield- 
ing the  sceptre  of  a  universal  dominion. 

I  think  it  then  safe  to  say  :  that  Episcopacy  did 
not,  from  its  own,  original  and  inherent  tendency, 
develop  itself  into  Popery  ;  and  that  it  is  not  now, 
from  itself  tending  back  to  that  extreme.  Enough 
has  been  said  to  make  us  receive,  with  confidence, 
the  conclusions  ;  that  unsanctified  human  nature, 
under  all  circumstances,  and  especially  under  such 
as  history  records,  does  tend  violently  to  the  Papal 
corruption  ;  that  political  influence,  when  married 
to  the  Church,  tends  most  forcibly  to  the  same 
result  ;  and  that  superstition  and  doctrinal  error, 
as  we  have  seen  with  our  own  saddened  eyes,  may 
run,  with  unmatched  velocity,  along  the  beaten 
track  both  of  our  straying  nature  and  of  a  merely 
baptized  political  ambition  :  but,  that  simple,  prim- 
itive Episcopacy  itself  is  not  plagued  with  this  ten- 
dency more  than  any  other  pious  and  exemplary 
Christian  ministry.  In  ruling  the  Church,  such  an 
Episcopacy  is  a  happy  mean  between  the  Papal 
tyranny  on  the  one  hand,  and  popular  misrule  on 
the  other.  Its  character  happily  fits  it  for  such  a 
uniting  position.  Popery  accumulates  and  absorbs 
power  into  itself ;  the  unrestrained  popular  element 
disperses  and  finally  destroys  it :  a  simple  Episco- 
pacy represses  both  extremes,  and  binds  together 
the  body  of  Christ's  members  in  as  much  of  har- 


240  THE  LIVma  TEMPLE. 

mony,  peace  and  love  as  are  compatible  with  the 
lot  of  Christ's  religion  in  the  hands  of  our  common 
humanity.  Both  in  individuals  and  in  society,  our 
nature  tends  to  extremes  ;  and  when,  with  an  en- 
larged and  enlightened  view,  we  look  upon  the 
ruinous  character  of  the  extremes,  into  which,  on 
either  hand,  it  has  actually  run,  it  must  be  evident 
to  all  judicious  minds,  that  the  Church  needs  just 
such  a  binding  influence  in  its  ruling  authority  as 
that  which  resided  in  the  ancient  Episcopacy,  be- 
fore blind,  worldly  policy,  aided  by  the  baptized 
superstitions  of  heathenism,  gathered  around  it  the 
trappings  of  earthly  power  and  place  and  wealth ; 
and  while,  like  its  Master  and  from  simple  love  to 
Him  and  to  the  souls  of  men,  it  was  willing  to  walk 
on  its  rounds  of  labor,  and  to  be,  in  temporal 
things,  more  unprovided  than  the  foxes  in  their 
holes  and  the  birds  of  the  air  in  their  nests.  Grod 
hasten  the  day  when  the  spirit  of  the  ancient  insti- 
tute shall  return,  not  only  in  here  and  there  a 
humble,  holy  bishop,  but  in  all  who  bear  his  office  ; 
and  when,  under  their  wise  and  paternal  sway,  the 
Church  shall  be  ruled  in  harmony,  peace  and  love, 
according  to  the  simple  laws  of  Christ,  and  in  all 
the  prosperousness  of  spiritual  life  and  growth. 

II.  I  pass  now  to  the  second  point  in  the  sub- 
ject, viz  :  Episcopacy  as  a  discipline  of  tkuth. 


G  0  VERNMENT.  241 

The  influence  of  tbe  ministry  in  doctrine,  preach- 
ing, and  example  (for  in  all  these  it  becomes  a 
TEACHING  institute),  is  the  most  important  which 
the  Christian  Church-ruler  can  exert.  It  is  Christ's 
chief  instrumentality  in  saving  lost  men,  and,  in 
using  this  instrumentality  for  the  well-being  of  the 
visible  Body,  a  scriptural  Bishop  occupies  a  post 
of  special  advantage.  In  his  true  character,  as 
humble  and  holy,  laborious  and  Christ-like,  a 
teaching  Bishop  comes  in  contact  with  all  classes 
in  the  Church,  clergy  and  people,  old  and  young, 
under  most  favorable  circumstances  ;  not  merely 
as  a  good  man  in  the  ministry,  but  clothed  with 
the  authority  and  surrounded  with  the  reverence 
which  attach  themselves  to  his  ancient  and  pecu- 
liar office  ;  the  recognized  and  venerated  teacher, 
not  of  a  few.  but  of  the  whole  flock  committed  to 
his  care  ;  the  grave  and  honored  expounder  of 
the  doctrine  of  Christ  to  the  widely-spread  clergy 
and  people  of  his  charge.  Taking  the  Church  as 
a  whole,  the  comparatively  small  number  of  Bish- 
ops, and  the  greater  publicity  of  their  teachings 
and  example,  keep  them  more  strictly  in  the  eye 
of  scrutiny,  and  render  it  more  easy  to  compare 
their  doctrine  and  conduct  with  the  standards  of 
truth  and  duty,  than,  in  the  case  of  a  numerous 
body  of  clergy,  each  confined,  ordinarily,  within 
the  limits  of  a  narrower  and  more  private  sphere, 
16 


242  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

would  be  practicable.  It  is  true,  that  even  a 
Bishop  may  teach  error  and  practice  wickedness  ; 
but  so,  with  even  greater  facility,  may  any  other 
minister.  This,  therefore,  makes  nothing  against 
our  view.  Take  two  preachers  of  the  Gospel, 
equally  able  and  learned,  equally  holy  and  exem- 
plary, in  all  essential  respects  alike,  save  that  the 
one  is  a  Bishop  and  the  other  not  a  Bishop,  and 
it  would  be  impossible  so  to  extend  and  diversify 
the  labors  and  influence  of  the  latter  as  to  make 
them  equal  in  power  and  efficiency  on  the  spiritual 
well-being  of  the  flock  of  Christ,  with  the  equally 
extended  labors  and  the  equally  diversified  in- 
fluence of  the  former.  He  has  not  the  same  point 
of  advantage  from  which  to  act.  He  carries  not 
with  him,  in  the  peculiar  genius  of  his  office,  the 
same  silent  but  living  and  deep-felt  power  for 
good.  And  this  is  said,  not  by  way  of  depreciat- 
ing the  blessed  power  of  the  able  and  holy  man 
of  God  in  any  Non-Episcopal  ministry,  but  to 
show  that  it  is  simply  impossible  to  clothe  him 
with  that  peculiar  power  for  good,  which  invests 
the  equally  able  and  equally  holy  man  of  God  in 
the  office  of  a  Bishop.  In  his  doctrine  and  in  his 
teaching,  in  his  example  and  in  his  active  mea- 
sures for  the  extension  of  religion,  there  is  a  pe- 
culiarity of  influence  in  such  a  Bishop,  which  no 
other  minister  of  Christ  can  attain  :  a  peculiarity 


GOVERNMENT.  243 

which  grows,  not  out  of  the  man,  but  out  of  his 
office,  and  out  of  the  adaptedness  with  which  that 
office  meets  certain  great  and  permanent  suscepti- 
bilities of  our  common  uature.  Say  what  we  will, 
we  cannot  take  out  of  our  nature  the  salutary  feel- 
ings of  deference  and  respect,  with  which  it  stands 
in  the  presence  of  just  and  fitting  and  rightly-con- 
stituted superiority  of  official  rank  ;  "  salutary,"  I 
say,  provided  it  be  a  superiority,  not  so  high  as 
to  inspire  an  awful  and  painful  sense  of  distance, 
nor  yet  so  low  as  to  seem  a  mere  gift  from  the 
people,  to  be  treated  with  familiarity,  if  not  con- 
tempt. In  spite  of  theories,  our  nature  dreads  the 
monotony  of  an  unbroken  level.  A  beautiful  and 
harmonious  ascent  of  being  and  of  orders  marks  all 
God's  works  in  Heaven  and  on  earth,  and  it  is  impos- 
sible to  extinguish  the  feelings  which  spontaneously 
spring  up  in  the  manifested  presence  of  this  Divine 
constitution  of  things.  A  pure  Gospel  and  the  re- 
ligion which  it  embodies,  spread  to  the  best  advan- 
tage from  such  a  Bishop  as  I  have  described.  He 
has  the  best  opportunities  for  impressing  the  holy 
character  of  Christ  and  His  Gospel  on  wide  masses 
of  men  and  upon  all  the  living  institutes  and  per- 
manencies .of  the  Church.  Tuc  point  of  influence 
from  which  he  acts  gives  him  the  best  means  of 
*'  driving  away  from  the  Church  all  erroneous  and 
strange  doctrines  contrary  to  God's  Word  "    He 


244.  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

is  not  SO  far  from  his  clergy  and  people  as  that  he 
cannot  see  and  measure  error  and  its  evils  with 
his  own  eyes,  and  remove  them  by  such  means  as 
are  wisest  and  best ;  nor  yet  so  nearly  on  an 
equality  with  them  in  point  of  conceded  authority, 
as  to  strip  his  discipline  of  its  just  power  for  effect. 
Both  in  teaching  the  truth  and  in  repressing  error, 
he  wields  the  happiest  instrumentality  for  good. 
He  concentrates  confidence,  veneration,  love  ;  he 
awakens  respect,  reverence,  obedience  ;  he  pro- 
motes harmony,  zeal,  action  ;  and  he  does  all  with 
a  peculiarity  of  success,  to  which  no  one,  under 
other  forms  of  the  ministry,  can  attain  ;  to  which 
no  one  in  the  lower  orders  of  an  episcopally  con- 
stituted ministry  can  attain  ;  which  springs  from 
the  fact  that  there  are  lower  orders  in  this  minis- 
try, and  which,  in  truth,  is  partly  but  the  power 
of  these  lower  orders  working  upwards,  and  be- 
coming manifest  in  the  results  of  this  benignly 
effective  Presidency. 

It  will  be  well,  before  closing  this  Chapter,  to 
notice  a  modification  to  the  objection  against  Epis- 
copacy, which  has  already  occupied  so  much  of 
our  time.  It  may  be  thus  stated  :  The  office  of  a 
Bishop  has  too  much  power,  too  strong  attractions, 
for  the  mere  worldly  heart  in  its  love  of  authority 
and  official  consideration  ;  and,  therefore,  Bishops 
are  more  apt  to  be  worldly  in  spirit  and  corrupt 


GOVERNMENT.  245 

in  doctrine,  and  hence,  more  baleful  in  their  in- 
fluence on  the  cause  of  spiritual  religion,  than  a 
ministry  constituted  on  the  basis  of  official  parity. 
To  the  objection  in  this  shape  I  reply :  if  the 
Episcopal  office  were,  indeed,  and  intrinsically, 
identified  with  the  pomp  and  circumstance,  the 
wealthy  endowment  and  political  power,  which,  in 
England,  have  been  associated  with  it,  there  might 
be  weight  in  the  objection.  But  this  is  not  so. 
These  corrupting  attractions  belong  not  to  the 
office,  but  to  the  circumstances  with  which  a  false 
policy  has  surrounded  it.  The  love  of  power  is 
innate,  ineradicable,  and,  unless  under  the  control 
of  divine  grace,  inordinate.  To  the  human  heart 
office  is  nothing,  save  as  it  is  a  means  of  acquiring, 
and  an  instrument  for  exercising,  the  power,  which 
it  loves  ;  and  even  as  such  means  and  instrument, 
it  is,  perhaps,  of  less  importance  than  many  sup- 
pose. The  main  sources  of  power  lie  within  a 
man,  and  when  the  spring  is  deep  and  copious,  if 
it  do  not  find,  it  will  force,  a  channel  for  its  gush- 
ings  ;  if  it  do  not  meet,  it  will  make,  an  office,  into 
which  it  may  vault  and  ride  on  high  among  the 
people.  And  when  human  ambition  makes  an 
office  for  itself,  it  is  apt  to  make  it  somewhat 
higher  than  God,  in  His  wisdom,  has  seen  fit  to 
ordain.  As  I  have  already  shown,  Archbishops, 
Patriarchs,  and  Popes,  are  not  naturally  developed- 


246  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

Episcopacy,  but  man's  aspirings,  vaulting  above 
primitive  order  ;  and,  had  that  order  been  Pres- 
byterial  only,  the  leap  upwards  would  have  been 
quite  as  possible,  and  perhaps  somewhat  higher. 
So  far  as  the  theory  of  the  Episcopal  office  is  con- 
cerned, it  may  be  said,  that,  where  no  due  grada- 
tion in  the  ministry  is  established  and  conceded, 
the  ambitions  which  live  deep  in  our  nature,  and 
the  difficulty  of  maintaining  simple  equality  among 
masses  of  men  of  varying  abilities,  tastes  and  op- 
portunities, will  be  more  likely  to  engender  strifes 
after  superiority  of  place  and  power,  than  where 
such  gradation  in  the  ministry  is  established  and 
conceded,  and  where  the  very  fixedness  of  institu- 
tions tends,  so  far  as  anything  can  tend,  to  gener- 
ate a  spirit  of  quiet  submission  and  contentment 
of  mind  under  the  reign  of  lawful  and  acknowl- 
edged order. 

The  best  illustration  both  of  the  theory  and  of 
the  working  of  true  Episcopacy  may  be  gathered 
from  the  early  ages  of  the  Church.  What,  then, 
was  a  Bishop  designed  to  be ;  and  what  was  he  in 
the  pristine  days  of  his  office  ?  Why,  simply,  the 
most  conspicuous  follower  of  Christ,  as  well  in 
poverty  and  sufferings,  as  in  the  aboundings  of  his 
toils  for  the  souls  of  men  ;  the  very  front  mark,  in 
the  Christian  army,  to  the  arrow  of  the  destroyer 
and  the  sword  of  the  persecutor  !     "  Nolo  Epimo- 


GOVERNMENT. 


24.7 


pari  "  was  then  the  utterance,  not  of  a  counterfeit 
modesty,  but,  of  an  honest  heart,  speaking  out  of 
its  deepest  sensibilities,  and  meaning  just  this  : 
that,  ''if  the  Master  would  mercifully  excuse  His 
servant,  he  would  prefer  laboring  in  some  less  per- 
ilous post  of  duty."  The  Episcopal  office  was  not 
sought  by  the  worldly  or  the  ambitious  then.  It 
could  not  be  urged  successfnlly  upon  any  but  those, 
who  were  "constrained  by  the  love  of  Christ"  and 
the  souls  of  men  to  "  count  all  things  but  loss,"  and 
to  be  counted  but  as  "  the  offscouring  of  all  things." 
Then,  the  influence  of  the  office  was  not  corrupting 
but  purifying.  It  drew  into  that  front  ministr}^ 
none  but  the  choicest  of  the  fine  gold ;  and  it  drew 
that  gold  thither  but  to  refine  it  still  more  perfect- 
ly, even  as  in  a  furnace  of  fire  !  Those  days  will 
never  return  ;  but  the  time  may  come, — God  send 
it  soon — when  the  office  of  a  Bishop  shall  have 
nothing  to  attract  the  heart  but  superior  opportun- 
ities for  doing  good  in  the  salvation  of  men  amid 
more  abounding  toils,  privations  and  hardships, 
endured  from  love  to  the  dear  Saviour  of  our  souls, 
and  to  those  for  whom  He  so  freely  shed  His  own 
precious  blood.  The  idea  that  this  office  must  be 
dignified  by  surrounding  it  with  an  adventitious 
array  of  wealth,  and  titles,  and  places  of  honor, 
seems  like  an  imputation  on  the  lowly  Jesus  ;  a 
mere  earthly  conception  of  the  true  dignity  of  a 


2^.8  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

Bishop ;  as  if  the  work  of  Christ  and  the  office  of 
one  of  His  chief  ambassadors  did  not  shine  bright- 
est and  most  heavenly  when  seen,  like  the  stars,  at 
night ;  surrounded,  if  need  be,  by  the  darkness  of 
poverty,  and  of  a  wicked  world's  frown !  True 
Bishops  need  not  court  either  poverty  or  persecu- 
tion ;  neither  should  they  ignobly  shun  them  ;  and, 
least  of  all,  should  they  covet  equality  with  the  great 
of  this  world  in  the  external  circumstances  of 
wealth,  place  and  power.  Their  influence  will  be 
most  extended,  most  benign,  when,  in  character 
and  labors,  they  are  most  like  Christ ;  and  when 
they  partake  most  largely  in  the  spirit  of  that 
Apostle,  who  "'  rejoiced  in  his  sufferings  for  the 
brethren,  and  in  filling  up  what  was  behind  of  the 
afflictions  of  Christ  for  His  body's  sake,  which  is 
the  Church.'' 

Such,  then,  is  the  Episcopacy  which  a  scriptural 
teacher  may  well  dare  to  advocate  ;  an  Episcopacy 
separated  from  what  belongs  not  to  it,  save  in  com- 
mon with  other  systems  ;  from  what  springs  out  of 
a  corrupt  nature  and  corrupting  historic  influences. 
It  is  as  proper  to  limit  our  views  to  such  an  Epis- 
copacy, as,  in  estimating  the  value  of  other  forms 
of  the  ministry,  to  suppose  those  who  fill  them  to 
be  good  men.  In  estimating  the  value  of  any  con- 
stitution of  the  ministry,  no  one  would  go  on  the 


GOVERNMENT.  249 

supposition  that  its  incumbents  were  bad  men,  or 
needlessly  embarrassed  by  obstacles  hostile  to 
their  proper  usefulness.  We  have  viewed  Episco- 
pacy as  it  ought  to  be  ;  as  it  was  in  its  pristine 
age  ;  as  it  has  been  since,  in  numerous  happy  in- 
stances ;  as  it  is  now,  in  many  instances  not  less 
happy  ;  and  as  we  doubt  not  it  will  be  every  where, 
when  the  abuses  of  the  ages  shall  have  been  all 
swept  away,  and  when  the  Episcopacy  of  elder 
times  shall  be  seen  opening  its  rich  stores  of  spirit- 
ual blessing  and  pouring  them  into  the  lap  of  a 
thankful  Church  and  of  a  once  thankless  world  ; 
pre-eminently  good  in  both  its  offices,  that  of  ruling 
the  Church  by  the  discipline  of  order,  and  that  of 
guiding  the  Church  by  the  discipline  of  truth  ;  rul- 
ing the  Church  on  the  middle  ground  between  the 
two  extremes  of  papal  tyranny  and  popular  mis- 
rule ;  and  guiding  Christians  into  the  way  of  life 
both  by  ''  driving  away  hurtful  and  strange  error," 
and  by  giving  its  best  effect  to  saving,  divine 
Truth. 

We  have  taken  but  a  partial  view  of  a  great  sub- 
ject ;  leaving  the  details  of  Church  government,  as 
distributed  between  the  ministry  and  the  other 
members,  to  be  treated  under  the  more  general 
head  of  Ecclesiastical  Polity,  and  confining  our- 
selves  to   the  single  topic  of  the  advantages  of 


250 


THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 


Episcopacy  in  ministering  to  the  WELL-being  of  the 
Church  ;  and  even  on  this  single  topic  we  have 
said  but  little,  though,  I  .would  hope,  enough  to 
commend  this  institution  to  the  favorable  regards 
of  all  spiritually  enlightened  minds. 


CHAPTER    III 


WORSHIP. 


AFTER  what  was  said  in  the  last  Chapter  of 
Government,  as  necessary  to  the  well-being 
of  the  visible  Church,  we  may  next  turn  our  thoughts 
to  WORSHIP  as  needful  to  the  same  end. 

Worship,  in  its  outward  manifestations,  like  gov- 
ernment in  its  various  forms,  has  always  and  every- 
where been  a  function  of  the  visible  Church.  No 
one  form  of  worship,  indeed,  can  be  used  as  a  mark 
for  ascertaining  the  true  comprehension  of  the 
Church  ;  nevertheless,  no  part  of  the  Church  has 
ever  been  without  worship  in  some  form  ;  though 
it  were  a  form  without  words.  The  Church,  in 
truth,  is  essentially  a  worshiping  Body. 

The  requisites  to  all  acceptable  worship  are 
stated  with  admirable  precision  by  Him  who  spake 
as  "never  man  spake."  "The  true  worshipers 
shall  worship  the  Father  in  spirit  and  in  truth." 
All  acceptable  worship  must  unite  these  two  quali- 
ties. It  must  be  "in  spirit,"  as  distiuguished  from 
mere  outward  form  and  ceremony,  mere  external 

(351) 


252  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

offerings  and  sacrifices  ;  and  as  implying  an  inward 
and  spiritual  act,  an  earnest  engagement  of  the 
mind  and  heart,  the  strong  spiritual  action  of  the 
soul  itself.  It  must  also  be  "in  truth,"  as  involving 
sincerity,  and  as  opposed  to  hypocrisy  and  to  all 
mistaken  or  artificial  excitement  of  the  mind  ;  as 
being  aided  by  the  Spirit  of  truth,  and  based  on 
right  views  of  Him  who  is  the  Truth,  and  of  His 
Word  as  a  revelation  of  His  truth.  All  who  thus 
"  worship  the  Father  in  spirit  and  in  truth/'  are 
accepted  of  Him,  and  none  others  can  be.  ''He 
seeketh  such  to  worship  Him,"  and  with  none 
others  can  He  be  pleased.  All  outward  forms  of 
worship,  if  vacated  of  this  spirit  and  this  truth,  are 
as  smoke  in  His  nostrils,  an  offense  to  His  eye, 
and  an  insult  to  His  ear.  He  ''is  a  Spirit,"  and 
looketh  right  through  all  outward  acts  and  forms, 
and  seeth  at  a  glance  whether  they  are,  like  Him- 
self, filled  with  spirit  and  with  truth  ;  or  whether, 
like  the  hypocrite,  the  formalist,  or  the  visionary, 
they  are  full  of  the  empty  mockery  of  the  knee, 
the  lip  and  the  eye,  or  but  as  the  glare  of  a  false, 
deceitful  fire. 

The  forms  in  which  worship  is  offered  are  not 
unimportant.  The  silent  worship  of  the  soul  is, 
indeed,  a  sublime  offering,  and  goes  up  to  God  as 
an  "incense  of  a  sweet-smelling  savor."  Never- 
theless, in  the  action  of  the  Church  visible,  it  can 


WORSHIP.  253 

never  reasonably  take  the  place  of  a  worship  ex- 
pressing itself  in  some  appropriate  outward  form. 
It  is,  therefore,  an  inquiry  of  some  interest,  in  what 
form  this  worship  may  best  be  offered?  Unless 
we  adopt  the  practice  of  a  silent  worship,  some 
outward  form  the  Church  must  necessarily  have. 
Which  form,  then,  conduces  most  to  the  well-being 
of  the  Church,  the  Liturgical  or  the  Extempora- 
neous ? 

I  rest  the  subject  on  the  ground  of  comparative 
merit,  because  the  Bible  does  not,  by  explicit  pre- 
cept, enjoin  either  the  one  or  the  other  of  these 
forms.  This  absence  of  binding  Scriptural  author- 
ity for  any  one  form  of  public  worship  is  so  mani- 
fest, that  the  American— following  berein  the  Eng- 
lisb— Preface  to  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  has 
laid  it  down  as  the  ground  of  one  of  its  rules,  that 
'*  the  particular  forms  of  Divine  Worship  are  things, 
in  their  own  nature,  indifferent  and  alterable,  and 
so  acknowledged.''  Any  organized  visible  Church, 
in  settling  the  question  for  itself,  may  adopt  either 
form-;  and,  having  so  done,  may  alter  or  change 
the  one  for  the  other,  provided,  in  such  alteration 
or  change,  it  act,  as  our  Preface  expresses  it,  ''by 
common  consent  and  authority." 

Following  general  custom,  our  Church  has  en- 
joined worship  by  a  Liturgy  :  and  until,  ''  by  com- 
mon consent  and  authority,"  this  form  be  altered 


254 


THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 


or  abolished,  it  is  not  admissible  for  us,  as  a  Church, 
to  use  any  other  form  than  that  prescribed. 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  worship  by  such  a  form 
may  be  offered,  as  God  requires,  ''in  spirit  and  in 
truth."  This  no  candid  mind  will  deny.  The  fact 
that  the  worship  of  the  Temple  and  of  the  Syna- 
gogue was  by  such  a  form,  and  that  the  holy  Jesus 
was  in  the  habit  of  joining  it  in  both  places,  forever 
settles  this  point ;  and  should  satisfy  all  who  object 
that  worship  by  a  prescribed  form  is  opposed  or 
unfriendly  to  worship  "in  spirit  and  in  truth.^' 
Either  such  a  form  is  congruous  with  these  interior 
requisites,  or  Christ  has  sanctioned  by  His  exam- 
ple what  by  His  words  He  has  condemned. 

In  comparing  the  two  forms  now  in  view,  it  is 
not  necessary  to  sympathize  in  many  of  the  stric- 
tures w^hich  are  passed  upon  Extemporaneous  Wor- 
ship. We  may  even  freely  admit  that,  following 
simple  nature,  taught  and  aided  by  the  Spirit,  the 
heart  is  strongly  inclined  to  pour  forth  its  emotions 
and  desires,  its  faith  and  love,  into  the  bosom  and 
upon  the  ear  of  God  in  the  unstudied  language  of 
gushing  earnestness  and  affection  ;  and  that  wor- 
ship thus  offered  is  highly  acceptable  to  Him  ''  that 
looketh  on  the  heart."  We  may  take  this  view 
without  touching  the  real  merits  of  the  question 
whether,  in  the  public  worship  of  the  Church,  the 
advantages  of  a  previously  enjoined  mode  prepon- 


WORSHIP.  255 

derate  over  those  of  an  extemporaneous  form? 
This  question  must  be  settled — not  by  reference  to 
what  simple  nature,  influenced  by  divine  grace, 
would  prompt  the  heart  to  do  by  itself,  but — by 
reference  to  what  is  demanded  by  the  complex  and, 
in  its  simplest  form,  artificial  structure  of  the  visi- 
ble Church  ;  by  the  involved  and  multiform  inter- 
ests and  influences  of  its  social  organization. 

In  examining  this  point,  the  view  generally 
taken — as  in  the  treatise  of  the  philosophic  Paley— 
virtually  supposes  the  mind  of  the  Church  to  be, 
in  the  main,  at  rest ;  in  a  state  of  religious  repose, 
which  renders  it  a  fit  subject  for  the  just  develop- 
ment of  the  comparative  excellences  of  the  two 
modes  of  worship.  And  if  the  mind  of  the  Church 
could  always  be,  and  be  kept,  in  such  a  state,  this 
would  be  the  true  light  in  which  to  study  iliQ  sub- 
ject. But,  the  mind  of  the  Church  is  not  always, 
nor  when  it  is  can  it  always  be  kept,  in  such  a 
state.  From  within  itself,  and  from  without,  it  is 
often  excited,  put  in  motion,  and  driven,  if  not  into 
progress,  at  least  towards  a  change.  In  these 
states  of  mind,  too,  it  may  happen  that,  so  far  as 
the  majority  are  affected,  theological  views  are 
shifting,  doctrines  are  in  transition,  faith  is  unset- 
tled, and  customs  are  upheaved.  These,  therefore, 
are  the  periods  most  proper  for  testing  the  com- 
parative value  of  the  two  modes  of  public  worship 


256  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE, 

in  the  Church.  I  shall  look  at  the  subject  in  the 
light  of  such  a  state  of  things.  Such  a  state  now 
exists,  and  has  long  existed  ;  and  it  has  affected, 
not  one  part  only,  but  the  whole  of  Protestant 
Christendom.  We  may  add,  that — except  when 
its  spiritual  life  has  either  become  stagnant  amid 
the  corruptions  of  error,  superstition  and  worldli- 
ness,  or  been  raised  to  a  point  of  purity  and  power 
seldom  if  ever  realized  on  earth — the  Church  is 
never  free  from  such  a  state  in  the  agitations  and 
tendencies  of  what  may  be  termed  its  general 
mind. 

In  approaching  now  the  point  of  comparison  be- 
fore us,  let  us  endeavor  to  get  a  distinct  view  of 
the  true  attitude  of  the  devotional  mind  in  all  pub- 
lic worship. 

When  engaged  in  such  worship,  then,  the  devo- 
tional mind  is — not  in  the  intellectually  critical, 
but — in  the  spiritually  receptive  state.  In  its  de- 
vout longings  after  heavenly  things,  it  is  like  a 
hungry,  confiding  babe,  longing  for  nourishment 
and  ''opening  its  mouth  wide"  that  it  may  be 
**  filled."  In  relation  to  the  leader  of  its  devotions, 
it  is  not  disposed  to  pause  and  criticise  his  utter- 
ances, but  rather  inclined  to  follow  and  speed  them 
upwards  with  its  heartfelt  "Amens."  The  really 
praying  mind  instinctively  shrinks  from  the  meta- 
physical difficulty  of  carrying  on  two  distinct,  simul- 


WORSHIP.  257 

taneous  trains  of  thought,  the  one  devotional,  the 
other  critical.     It  cannot  stop  to  question  each  suc- 
cessive utterance  of  its  leader,  to  compare  each 
with  the   standard  of  truth,   and   then   to  judge 
whether  or  not  it  cover  a  heresy.     It  is  inclined  to 
repose  with  confidence  on  his  soundness,  to  catch 
his  utterances  as  they  flow  warm  from  his  heart 
and  his  lips,  and  with  a  constant  and  impulsive, 
though  silent,  ''Amen,"  to  wing  them  upwards  to 
the  Throne  on  the  swelling  importunity  of  united 
prayer.     This,  in  all  public  worship,  is  the  true 
attitude  of  the  devotional  mind.     Any  other  atti- 
tude is  unfitting  the  occasion.     It  would  turn  what 
should  be  the  offering  of  a  pure  worship  into  a  train- 
ing  of  the  mere   critical  intellect.      I  say— not 
merely  that  such  should  be,  but— that  such  is  the 
attitude  of  the  devotional  mind  ;  the  attitude  which 
that  mind  seeks  and  maintains  in  public  worship. 
When  it  changes  this  attitude  for  some  other,  it 
ceases  to  be  a  devotional,  and  becomes  a  critical, 
speculative,  or  discursive  mind  ;  or  a  mind  in  some 
other  attitude,  equally  foreign  from  the  subject  of 
true  worship. 

I.  As  acting,  then,  on  this  attitude  of  the  devo- 
tional mind,  let  us  look,  first,  at  the  tendency  of  an 
EXTEMPORANEOUS  modc  of  worship  during  such  a 
period  of  movement  in  the  mind  of  the  Church  as 
that  which  we  have  been  contemplating. 
17 


258 


THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 


A  deep,  perhaps  a  silent  and  ud noticed  current 
of  speculation  and  threatened  change  is  running 
through  the  ecclesiastical  mind.  The  minister  of 
a  congregation,  worshiping  extemporaneously, 
falls  into  this  current,  moves  with  it,  and  is,  in  fact, 
one  of  the  few  who,  either  intelligently  or  by  sym- 
pathetic influence,  directs  its  course.  If,  now,  he 
be  conscious  of  the  change  which  is  taking  place  in 
the  mind  of  the  Church,  and  in  his  own  mind,  and 
if  withal  he  be  an  honest  and  a  bold  man,  he  will 
utter  his  new  convictions  in  his  public  devotions  ; 
and  thus,  if  those  new  convictions  belong  to  what 
his  Church-standards  deem  heterodoxy,  he  may  be 
detected  ;  and,  unless  his  congregation  sympathize 
with  him,  he  may,  by  an  act  of  discipline,  be  re- 
moved from  his  post  of  influence.  But,  if  he  be 
at  first  without  any  distinct  consciousness  of  the 
change  which  is  passing  in  his  own  mind  ;  and  if, 
though  an  honest,  he  be  yet  a  timid  man  ;  or  if,  as 
it  may  possibly  happen,  he  be  a  man  of  unscrupu- 
lous conscience,  who  knows  what  he  is  doing,  and 
who  intends,  so  far  as  his  influence  can  go,  to  lead 
the  Church  away  from  its  fixed  and  ancient  land- 
marks of  faith  and  doctrine  ;  and  who,  in  the 
strength  and  fervor  of  his  new  convictions,  deems 
it  right  to  eff'ect  his  great  and,  as  he  regards  it, 
good  end  by  politic  and  artful  means  ;  in  any  of 
these  cases  a  plain  and  easy  way  lies  open  for  his 


WORSHIP.  259 


entrance.     While  his  people  are  in  the  attitude  of 
the  devotional  mind,  looking  upon  their  leader  in 
worship  as  also  their  teacher  in  doctrine,  confiding 
in  his  guidance  of  their  devotions,  unsuspectingly 
drinking  at  the  stream  of    worshiping  thought  as 
it  flows  from  his  lips,  appropriating  his  utterances 
as  their  own,  and  sending  them  up  with  their  silent 
''Amens ''  to  God  ;  while  they  are  waiting  upon  him 
in  this  spirit,  he  at  first,  either  unconsciously  or  by 
design,  omits,  not  only  in  teaching,  but  especially 
in  worship,  all  reference  to  those  old  and  distinct- 
ive  truths  of  Christianity,  in  which  the   ancient 
doctrinal  standards  of  his  Church  had  been  set  up. 
What  follows  ?    In  a  few  years  these  distinctive 
truths  lose,  by  simple  neglect,  their  practical  im- 
portance and  hold  on  the  mind  ;  a  strange  dimness 
comes  over  the  spiritual  perceptions  of  the  flock, 
and  all  that  once  constituted,  in  their  view,  the  pe- 
culiarity of  the  Christian  faith,  lies,  at  length,  as  if 
under  a  dense   and  distant  fog.     And  now,  as  his 
own  convictions  deepen  and  strengthen,  and  fill  him 
with  the  impulses  of  their  new-born  power,  or,  as 
he  observantly  finds  the  way  prepared  for  further 
movement,  he  yields  to  those   worshiping   convic- 
tions,  and  begins   to  advance  the    new  views   to 
which  he  had  been  led  ;  not,  at  first,  in  a  full  and 
startling  dress,  but  in  a  softened  and  unsuspicious 
form.     The  devotional  mind  has  already  become 


26o  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE, 

accustomed  to  the  absence  of  the  old  forms  of 
faith  and  doctrine  :  it  now  becomes  familiar  with 
the  presence  of  the  new  phase  of  theology,  exhib- 
iting, as  yet,  much  that  is  plausible  and  apparentl}^ 
compatible  with  accredited  views.  The  way  is 
thus  prepared  for  a  still  further  movement.  Under 
the  growing  change  which  has  seized  it,  the  mind 
of  the  people  becomes  distinctly  conscious  of  a 
positive  dislike  of  what  it  can  recall  of  the  old 
orthoxody.  It  therefore  endures,  with  something 
like  a  relish,  the  fuller  and  bolder  invectives 
against  that  system  which  began  to  be  hazarded 
even  in  teaching,  and  which,  perhaps  unconsciously, 
partake  somewhat  of  the  extravagance  of  carica- 
ture. In  this  state  of  mind,  the  full  result  of  the 
movement  has  approached  its  birth.  The  work  of 
change  becomes  complete,  and  both  minister  and 
people  finish  their  transition  by  passing,  openly 
and  avowedly,  into  some  one  of  the  new,  erroneous, 
and  perhaps  fatal  theologic  systems  of  the  day.  A 
minority,  it  may  be,  remain  steadfast  in  their  old 
faith  ;  but,  this  only  insures  a  new  division  in  the 
Church,  the  organization  of  a  new  and  feeble  con- 
gregation, and,  peradventure,  an  embittered  legal 
contest  about  the  temporalities,  which  such  a  di- 
vision involves.  Which  way  soever  this  contest 
ends,  the  body  of  the  congregation  is  led  off  from 
its  former  faith  ;  and  if  the  chano-e  be  from  truth  to 


WORSHIP.  261 

error,  the  Christian  doctrine  is  either  partially,  or 
totally  subverted,  and  the  living  efficiency  of  the 
Gospel,  either  seriously,  or  totally  nullified. 

This  view  makes — not  against  the  private  liberty 
of  any  man  to  form,  or  to  alter  his  personal  faith 
on  his  personal  responsibility  to  God,  but — against 
the  stability  of  the  public  and  settled  faith  of  the 
Church.  It  is  intended  to  show  the  operation,  un- 
der given  circumstances,  of  the  extemporaneous 
mode  of  worship  ;  and  it  explains  a  large  class  of 
facts,  familiar  to  multitudes  of  the  past  and  present 
age.  If  the  faith  of  Churches,  organized  on  the 
Congregational  or  Independent  basis,  have  been 
more  frequently  overthrown  by  the  influence,  or 
co-operation,  of  this  mode  of  worship  than  that  of 
other  bodies  worshiping  in  the  same  mode,  it  is, 
as  I  infer,  simply  because  the  Congregational  or 
Independent  system  of  government  makes  each  or- 
ganized, worshiping  assembly  a  separate  Church, 
with  the  powers  of  government  and  discipline  com- 
plete in  itself,  and  subject  to  little  or  no  controlling, 
or  even  advisory  oversight  from  other  and  similar- 
ly organized  bodies.  The  tendency,  or  liability, 
to  such  a  subversion  of  the  faith  evidently  exists 
wherever  this  mode  of  worship  is  adopted  ;  and  the 
results  of  the  tendency,  or  liability,  are  exhibited, 
with  more  or  less  distinctness,  through  all  the 
spreadings  of  the  system. 


262  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

11.  Ill  the  second  place,  let  us  look  at  the  ten- 
dency of  public  worship  by  a  form,  previously 
settled  and  enjoined,  as  acting  on  the  devotional 
mind  of  the  Church,  during  the  same  period  of  ex- 
citement and  threatened  change. 

By  way  of  preparation  for  such  a  view,  it  is  but 
right  to  state  the  only  ground  on  which  an  enlight- 
ened Christian  will  attempt  the  defense  of  such  a 
form.  For  a  form,  in  the  abstract,  such  a  Christian 
can  have  no  over- weening  fondness.  His  defense 
must  rest  on  the  character  of  the  particular  form 
adopted.  He  will  demand  that  such  a  form,  be- 
sides being  constructed  on  just  logical  principles, 
and  in  conformity  with  those  of  a  simple,  pure 
taste  ;  besides  comprehending  all  the  ordinary 
wants  of  a  worshiping  assembly,  and  providing 
reasonably  for  all  special  occasions  of  public  peti- 
tion and  thanks  to  God  ;  besides  being  filled  with 
true  and  ennobling,  attractive  and  inspiring  views 
of  the  Most  High,  and  with  the  very  spirit  of  hum- 
ble and  reverential,  fervent  and  affectionate  devo- 
tion from  man,  shall  embody  all  the  great  and  es- 
sential, unchanging  and  saving  verities  of  the 
Gospel,  free  from  any  dangerous  admixtures  of 
human  error.  A  Liturgy  need  not  be  filled  with 
dogmatic  theology,  nor  be  modeled  on  the  ordinary 
forms  of  instruction,  nor  consist  of  prayers  turned 
into  preaching.     It  need  not  recognize  doubtful,  or 


WORSHIP.  263 

unessential  points  in  divinity  ;  nor  present  even  the 
essential,  fundamental  verities  of  the  Grospel  in  a 
S3"stematic,  or  controversial  dress  ;  but  it  should  be 
based  on  all  these  great  varities  as  its  foundation  ; 
it  should  use  them  all  devotionallj  ;  it  should  work 
them  all  into  its  confessions  and  petitions,  its 
thanksgivings  and  intercessions,  its  ascriptions  and 
adorations,  its  anthems  and  hymns  ;  in  the  power 
and  savor  and  prevalency  of  them  all,  it  should  as- 
cend, and  seek  to  make  the  worshiping  heart 
ascend,  to  the  throne,  and  the  ear,  and  the  heart 
of  Him  who  loveth  the  truth,  as  well  as  heareth 
His  true  people's  prayer. 

A  Liturgy,  too,  should  thus  embody  these  living 
truths,  free  from  all  dangerous  admixture  of  human 
error  ;  because,  if  it  exclude  these  truths,  or  if, 
while  retaining,  it  overlay  them  with  a  covering  of 
such  error,  the  very  reasons  which  commend  the 
use  of  a  Liturgy,  rightly  constructed,  would  legis- 
late against  it  and  banish  it  utterly  from  the  devo- 
tions of  a  redeemed  and  worshiping  flock.  A  Litur- 
gy, thus  defective,  or  thus  infected,  would  either 
want  the  soul  of  true  Christian  worship,  or  stereo- 
type error,  in  its  most  imperishable  forms,  on  the 
hearts  and  the  habits,  the  memory  and  the  mind,  of 
far-reaching  generations.  Were  the  use  of  such 
Liturgies  as  might  be  named  to  become  universal  in 
the  Church,  it  had  been  better  for  ''  the  faith  once 


264  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

delivered  to  the  saints,"  had  the  printing  art  lain 
undiscovered,  had  the  pen  never  traced  a  prayer 
beyond  those  recorded  on  the  inspired  page,  and 
had  the  true  servants  of  Christ  been  left,  with 
nothing  but  the  Bible  and  the  Spirit  to  teach,  and 
with  nothing  but  their  own  hearts  and  tongues  to 
tell  out,  their  adoring  thoughts  and  their  in-felt 
wants  to  God. 

Whether  the  Liturgy,  which  we  use,  be  construct- 
ed according  to  the  principles  just  stated,  I  cannot 
stop  minutely  to  inquire.  For  our  form  we  claim 
not  perfection.  We  may,  however,  safely  leave 
the  question  of 'its  character  to  all  fair  and  candid 
minds,  even  among  those  who  prefer,  or  continue 
to  use,  an  extemporaneous  worship.  From  many 
of  the  most  enlightened  and  pious  of  evangelical 
Christians  of  other  names,  our  Liturgy  has  received 
the  highest  and  most  eloquent  commendations,  on 
the  ground  of  its  conformity  with  the  principles, 
which  I  have  stated  ;  while  some,  if  not  all  of  the 
faults,  which  the  eye  of  Paley  detected  in  the  Eng- 
lish Book,  were  removed  from  the  American,  when 
we  came  to  adapt  it  to  the  altered  political  condi- 
tion of  our  country,  as  it  took  its  stand  among  in- 
dependent nations.  With  these  remarks,  then,  I 
assume  that  our  Liturgy  is  remarkably  full  and 
rich  in  the  saving  truths  of  the  Gospel ;  that  it  is 
free — not,  as  some  too  idolatrously  ween,  from  all 


WORSETP.  265 

human  error,  but — as  we  may  safely  claim,  from 
all  dangerous  admixtures  of  such  error  ;  that  it  is 
constructed  on  the  justest  principles  of  logic  and  of 
taste  ;  that  it  is  copious  in  its  provisions  for  all  the 
general  and  for  most  of  the  special  wants  of  a  wor- 
shiping people  ;  and  that  it  abounds  in  such  lowly 
and  self-abasing  acts  of  confession  and  supplication, 
and  in  such  fervent  and  sublime  strains  of  devotion 
and  praise,  that  the  most  broken-hearted  penitent 
may  well  pour  out  his  heart  in  the  former,  while 
glorified  angels,  were  they  visibly  present,  might 
cordially  utter  their  loud  ''Amens^to  the  latter. 
I  proceed,  now,  with  the  subject. 

Let  us,  then,  suppose  that  a  minister  of  a  par- 
ticular congregation,  worshiping  by  such  a  form,  is 
in  the  same  condition  of  mind  as  that  before  instan- 
ced. He  has  fallen  into  the  current,  which  is  set- 
ting so  deeply  and  strongly  through  the  general 
religious  mind  ;  he  moves  with  that  current ;  he 
reaches  the  result  to  which  it  tends  ;  he  becomes 
an  ERRORiST,  perhaps  of  the  most  dangerous  kind. 
What,  then,  is  the  position  in  v>^hich  he  finds  him- 
self as  one  who  may  wish  to  change  the  faith  of  the 
Church  into  a  conformity  with  his  newly  adopted 
views  ? 

If  he  be  a  dishonest  man,  or  a  man  of  unscrupul- 
ous conscience,  who  thinks  it  right  to  effect  what 
he  deems  a  good  end  by  means  which  others  would 


266  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

regard  as  of  questionable  morality,  he  cannot  take 
advantage  of  the  devoutly  responding  spirit  of  his 
worshiping  congregation.  He  cannot  make  his 
people  drink  at  the  stream  of  his  errors  through 
the  contidings  of  a  mind,  ready  to  follow  with  its 
impulsive  "A mens''  the  utterances  of  a  trusted  and 
warmly  earnest  leader.  Though  he  himself  be 
steeped  in  heresy,  yet  that  to  which  they  say 
*'Amen  "  is  full  of  the  richness  and  life  of  God's 
truth.  If,  therefore,  he  attempt  to  disseminate  his 
errors,  he  can  do  so  nowhere  save  in  the  pulpit,  or 
from  the  press,  or  by  conversation  ;  and  the  mo- 
ment he  makes  this  attempt,  whichever  medium  of 
influence  he  adopts,  he  must  pour  his  doctrine — 
not  into  the  heart  of  their  worshiping  confidence, 
but — into  the  ear  of  his  people's  critical  intel- 
lect. In  this  enterprise,  he  has  before  him — not  a 
body  of  trustful,  adoring,  appropriating  minds, 
but — a  congregation  who  feel  that  the  reason  and 
the  understanding  which  he  addresses  are  their 
own  ;  who  have  a  right  to  judge  him  by  his  ac- 
knowledged and  sworn  standards  ;  and  who,  in 
their  jealous  watchfulness  over  those  standards  will 
not  be  slow  either  to  detect  or  to  arraign  the  ad- 
venturous delinquent.  Examples  of  the  operation 
of  this  principle  have  not  been  wanting  even  with- 
in the  limits  of  our  brief  history  as  an  independent 
ecclesiastical   organization.    The  case  of  Mfnzies 


WORSHIP.  267 

Rajnor,  of  the  diocese  of  Connecticut,  who  attempt- 
ed to  teach  one  of  the  forms  of  heresy  from  his  pul- 
pit, but  who,  notwithstanding  the  cautiousness 
of  his  attempt,  was  detected  and  removed  from  the 
ministry,  was  one  in  point.  And  if  our  Church 
should  ever  fail  to  detect  and  cut  off  such  errorists, 
it  will  be — not  because  she  wants  means  to  detect 
them,  but — because  she  will  have  proved  unfaith- 
ful to  her  Master,  and  to  her  work  ;  an  unfaithful- 
ness for  which  she  would  deserve  the  chastenino- 
which  detected  but  allowed  corruptions  can  never 
fail,  sooner  or  later,  to  ensure. 

But,  suppose  a  case  of  more  frequent  occurrence  ; 
that  the  minister,  though  an  errorist,  is  yet  an 
honest  man  ;  strong  in  his  convictions,  yet  with 
a  live  conscience  in  his  bosom.  As  his  convic- 
tions gain  strength,  we  will  suppose  them  to  settle 
in  the  direction  of  the  rationalistic  extreme.  It 
is  evident,  now,  that  he  cannot  continue  in  the  use 
of  our  Liturgy.  This  embodies  and  is  based  on 
truths,  or,  as  he  will  consider  them,  errors,  which 
will  make  his  head  ache  every  time  he  utters  them 
on  his  knees  against  his  new  convictions  and  amid 
his  people's  hearty  "  Amens.'^  What,  then,  shall 
he  do  ?  A  hypocrite's  part  he  cannot  play,  for  he 
is  an  honest  man,  and  has  a  conscience  whose  fair 
answer  is  of  more  value  to  him  than  millions  of 
wealth  and  pinnacles  of  honor ;  and  a  wound  upon 


268  TEE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

which  he  more  dreads  than  poverty,  and  obscuritv 
and  rags.  There  is  but  one  thing  which  he  can 
do.  He  must  retire  from  his  ministry.  A  resist- 
less voice  within  commands  the  movement.  He 
obeys.  And  thus,  so  far  as  his  influence  can 
directly  and  officially  reach  her  faith,  the  Church 
is  safe.  Examples  of  the  operation  of  this  prin- 
ciple are  familiar  to  all  who  are  familiar  with  the 
recent  history  of  our  Church  ;  and  the  entire  ab- 
sence of  cases,  in  which  an  Episcopal  congrega- 
tion has  been  led  away  from  the  faith  of  their 
Church,  speaks,  on  this  point,  a  strong  language. 

To  this  remark,  the  cas3  of  ''King's  Chapel," 
Boston,  is  no  exception.  In  his  history  of  that 
Chapel,  Greenwood  says,  indeed,  that  this,  "  The 
first  Episcopal  Church  in  New  England,  became 
the  first  Unitarian  Church  in  the  United  States." 
But  this  is  an  incorrect  statement.  That  was  not 
a  case  in  which  an  Episcopal  Church  became  Uni- 
tarian ;  but  a  case,  in  which  an  edifice,  once  occu- 
pied by  an  Episcopal  congregation,  subsequently 
passed  into  the  possession  of  Unitarians.  The 
building,  virtually  vacated  by  the  incidents  of  our 
Revolutionary  War  of  its  Episcopal  occupants, 
passed  at  length  into  the  hands  of  a  congregation 
mostly  new  and  Unitarian.  No  sooner,  however, 
was  this  transfer  of  the  building  efifected,  than  it 
was  resolved  to  alter  the  Liturgy,  by  striking  out 


WORSHIP.  269 

all  references  to  the  great  doctrine  of  the  Trinity. 
It  was  equally  impossible  for  the  new  congrega- 
tion, as  honest  men,  to  worship  with  the  old  Prayer 
Book,  and  for  Dr.  Freeman,  their  lay-reader,  as  an 
honest  candidate  for  our  ministry,  to  obtain  Epis- 
copal ordination.  Had  the  original  congregation  of 
King's  Chapel  never  been  dispersed  by  the  hand 
of  war,  and  the  use  of  our  Liturgy  never  been  in- 
terrupted by  the  hand  of  mutilation,  that  vener- 
able edifice  and  that  ancient  congregation  would 
doubtless  have  remained  to  this  day  in  our  com- 
munion ;  the  people  as  sound  in  the  faith  as  the 
Prayer  Book  is  loyal  to  the  Truth  of  the  Son  of 
God. 

But,  suppose  the  convictions  of  the  minister  to 
have  settled — not  in  the  direction  of  the  rationalist, 
but — in  that  of  the  ritualist  extreme.  In  this  case, 
he  is  met  by  an  opposite,  but  scarcely  less  opera- 
tive, characteristic  of  our  Liturgy  ;  its  blank  va- 
cancy of  all  that  can  minister  to  the  longings  of 
that  peculiar  taste,  which  accompanies,  perhaps 
induces,  the  adoption  of  Eoraish  dogmas  and  ob- 
servances ;  which  accompanies  that  adoption  as 
uniformly  as  the  shadow  follows  its  substance ; 
which  may  induce  that  adoption  as  naturally  as 
any  cause  induces  its  own  effect.  In  continuing 
the  use  of  our  Liturgy,  such  a  minister  finds  no 
penance   for  the   post-baptismal   transgressor,  no 


270  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

mass  for  the  worshiper  of  transubstantiated  ele- 
ments ;  no  trace  of  a  confessional,  no  eulogy  upon 
human  merits  ;  no  prayer  for  the  dead,  no  help 
for  patients  under  purgatorial  discipline  ;  no  note 
of  wonder  at  the  miracles  of  the  Church,  no  viati- 
cum for  the  distressed  "  in  exti^ernis  ;^''  no  prean  to 
celibacy,  no  laud  to  virginity  ;  no  shrine  for  a  con- 
secrated relic,  no  receptacle  for  an  anointed  pic- 
ture ;  in  short,  not  a  single  ceremony  designed  for 
pomp,  nor  a  solitary  contrivance  for  inspiring  awe  ; 
but  all  plain  and  decent  in  posture,  all  simple  and 
beautiful  in  order  ;  all  sound  and  scriptural  in  sig- 
nification, all  rational  yet  fervent  in  devotion  ;  nor 
can  he  introduce  into  the  forms  which  he  uses  any- 
thing to  awaken  in  others  the  longings  which  are 
consuming  himself ;  not  a  word  of  truth  can  he 
leave  out,  nor  a  syllable  of  error  bring  in,  while 
conducting  the  worship  of  the  Church  ;  nothing 
can  he  do  towards  the  end  at  which  he  aims,  be- 
yond a  few  poor  changes  of  posture  and  of  cos- 
tume, which,  by  their  very  meagreness,  fail  to 
satisfy  himself,  while,  by  their  dim  pointing  to- 
wards something  more  startlingly  significant,  they 
displease  most  others,  and  betray  the  secret  errors 
which  would  beguile  them  from  their  faith.  His 
position,  in  truth,  becomes  one  of  serious  embar- 
rassment. The  cravings  of  his  secret  appetite  are 
left  in  unfed,  painful  hunger,  and  the  steps  of  his 


WORSHIP.  27  1 


half-timid  movements  are  watched  by  a  thousand 
reproving  looks,  until,  even  if  he  succeed  in  screen- 
ing his  errors  from  ecclesiastical  censure,  his  con- 
science, as  an  honest  man,  and  his  feelings  as  a 
self-respecting  man,  compel  him  to  abandon  a 
ministry  to  which  he  can  no  longer  be  comfort- 
ably loyal,  and  thus  to  deliver  the  Church  from 
the  beguilings  of  his  example  and  from  the  in- 
fluence of  his  teachings. 

In  truth,  the  pressure  of  this  negative  character 
of  our  Liturgy,  at  one  time,  stimulated  the  efforts 
of  some  in  England  to  restore  to  credit  and  use 
the  long  discarded  Romish  Breviary.     Amid  what 
it  deemed  the  ceremonial  poverty  of  the  Anglican 
forms,  the  ritual  spirit  felt  a  painful  sense  of  want 
not  easily  to  be  endured.     It  therefore  sought  else- 
where its  necessary  food  ;  first,  by  endeavoring  to 
bring  that  food  to  itself  in  the  English  Church  ; 
and  finally,  when  that  was  found  impracticable, 
by  going  after  it  to  the  Church  of  Rome.     Yerily, 
then,  the  ritual  spirit,  so  far  as  it  finds  entrance 
into  our  American  Episcopal  Church,  must  be  in 
a  most  famishing  condition  amid  the  more  severely 
simple  forms   in  which   its  worship  is   set  forth. 
These  forms  are,  indeed,  rich   to  those  who  love 
the  manna,  and  beautiful  to  those  who  admire  the 
simplicity  of  Divine  Truth  ;  but  they  must  be  poor 
to  those  who  long  for  the  splendid  ornaments,  and 


272  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

common  to  those  who  sigh  for  the  imposing  pomps 
of  Eome's  gorgeous  ritual.  It  can  be  no  matter 
for  wonder  if  such  should  be  incessantly  studying 
change.  Our  Liturgy  cannot  satisfy  their  crav- 
ings, nor  can  they  ever  use  it  in  diffusing  through 
the  Church  their  peculiar  theology  and  their  un- 
satisfied tastes. 

The  view  now  taken,  illustrates  still  further  the 
influence  of  our  scriptural  Liturgy,  when  operating 
— not  only  on  a  single  congregation  during  the 
ministry  of  a  single  man,  but  also  on  the  whole  ec- 
clesiastical bod}",  and  through  a  long  succession  of 
ages.  In  this  view,  its  influence  is  eminently  con- 
servative of  the  true  faith  of  the  Gospel.  Full,  as 
it  is,  of  the  marrow  of  Divine  Truth,  correct  and 
chaste  in  style,  fervent  and  often  sublime  in  spirit, 
it  is  also  a  composition,  with  which  we  become  in- 
timately faDiiliar.  It  lives  in  our  earliest  and 
latest,  our  fondest  and  holiest  associations.  It  fur- 
nishes much  of  our  worshiping  language,  and 
many  of  our  worshiping  thoughts,  in  social  and 
even  in  secret  prayer  ;  and  though  its  public  use 
fill  not  our  prayers  with  sermons,  yet  its  remem- 
bered strains  fill  our  hearts  with  doctrines,  and 
that  in  their  most  valuable  forms  ;  not  laid  up  as 
sharp  weapons  in  the  armory  of  our  critical  intel- 
lect, but  preserved  as  living  truths  in  the  spirit  of 
pure  devotion.     Thus  associated,  imbibed,  and  em- 


WORSHIP. 


273 


balmed,  the  truths  of  our  religion  operate  on  the 
heart  and  mind  of  imitative  childhood,  of  receptive 
youth,  of  digestive  manhood,  and  of  ruminating 
age  ;  and  thus  become,  as  it  were,  inwrought  into 
the  substance  of  the  Church,  and  live  and  act  as 
elements  in  her  enduring  constitution.  The  pro- 
cess may  give  to  our  ecclesiastical  temperament 
less  of  the  excitable,  the  impulsive,  and  the  fitfully 
strenuous  ;  yet  it  probably  imparts  to  that  temper- 
ament more  of  the  contemplative,  the  healthful  and 
the  long-lived. 

Thus  far,  we  have  been  looking  at  the  two  modes 
of  worship  in  their  comparative  action  on  the  devo- 
tional mind.  If  we  were  to  examine  that  action  on 
the  unworshiping  mind,  we  should  possibly  find 
the  comparison  somewhat  modified.  If  the  devout 
mind,  by  listening  to  a  set  form,  learn  to  repeat  by 
rote  what  it  cares  not  to  ponder  ;  by  listening  to 
an  extemporaneous  form  it  may  learn  to  listen  with 
incredulity  to  what  it  cannot  appreciate,  or  with 
idle  curiosity  to  what  offends  its  tastes.  Under 
such  a  set  form  as  ours,  if  the  indevout  mind  learn 
anything,  it  learns  nothing  but  God's  truth.  Under 
an  extemporaneous  form,  while  it  may  learn  God's 
truth,  it  will  prove  quite  as  susceptible  as  the  de- 
vout spirit  itself  both  to  the  absence  of  such  truth 
and  to  the  presence  of  the  opposite  error.  And 
when  the  hour  of  change  comes,  the  indevout  and 
18 


274  ^^^  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

careless  mind  will  be  found  even  more  ready  than 
that  which  has  seriously  and  thoroughly  digested 
its  errors,  for  the  deciding  movement  which  is  to 
follow :  since,  with  error,  in  all  its  forms,  the  natu- 
ral mind  has  a  stronger  affinity  than  the  spiritual ; 
while  the  spiritual  mind  has  something,  but  the 
natural  has  nothing,  to  restrain  its  inborn  aver- 
sion to  the  self-mortifying  strictness  of  Christi- 
anity. 

III.  The  two  forms  of  worship  might  be  compar- 
ed on  a  few  other  points  ;  but  the  design  of  this 
Treatise  does  not  call  me  to  discuss  them  fully.  It 
may  not,  however,  be  amiss  to  give  them  a  brief 
notice. 

The  principal  objections,  then,  to  worship  by  a 
previously  enjoined  form  are  two  :  1.  The  use  of 
such  a  form  tends  to  formalism.  The  tongue,  in  its 
familiarity  with  the  sounds,  repeats  language,  which 
an  un tasked  attention  fails  of  carrying  significant- 
ly to  the  heart.  2.  Such  a  form  is  incapable  of 
adaptation  to  many  of  the  most  interesting  exigen- 
ces of  times,  places  and  circumstances.  It  is  not 
effective  in  awakening  the  religious  sensibilities, 
and  in  cultivating  the  religious  affections,  amid  the 
ceaseless  and  often  impressive  providential  inci- 
dents of  life. 

In  each  of  these  objections  we  may  freely  con- 


WORSHIP.  275 

cede  that  there  is  a  certain  amount  of  force  ;  and 
yet,  I  think,  the}^  admit  of  a  fair  reply. 

1.  Though  a  candid  mind  will  not  hesitate  to  con- 
cede the  tendency  of  forms  to  formalism,  yet  a  dis- 
criminating mind  can  see  that  the  tendency  is 
stronger  in  the  sound  of  words  than  in  the  experi- 
ence of  Christians.  But,  whatever  be  the  strength 
of  the  tendency,  it  is  not  irresistible.  The  life  and 
spirit  of  religion,  as  ordinarily  attendant  on  an 
earnest  and  faithful  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  will 
keep  this  tendency  within  as  narrow  limits,  under 
the  use  of  set  forms  of  worship,  as  under  that  of 
the  extemporaneous  mode.  We  must  not  forget 
that  the  tendency  to  formalism  in  worship  is  not 
limited  to  the  use  of  set-forms  of  worship.  It  is 
the  tendency  of  our  nature,  even  when  partially 
sanctified,  and  worshiping  in  the  least  formal  way. 
Safety  from  it,  under  all  circumstances,  is  the  gra- 
cious reward  of  nothing  but  strict  and  unsleeping 
watchfulness  over  the  state  of  the  heart  and  over 
the  spirit  of  its  devotions  ;  and,  on  these  conditions, 
that  safety  is  as  well  assured  to  those  who  worship 
by  a  prescribed,  as  to  those  who  use  an  extempora- 
neous mode.  And  this  is  as  true  of  those  who 
lead,  as  it  is  of  those  who  follovf,  in  the  stated  wor- 
ship of  the  Church. 

2.  While  it  need  not  be  denied  that  a  prescribed 
form  of  worship  is  incapable  of  minute  and  perfect 


2/6 


THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 


adaptation  to  the  ever  changing  exigences  of  life  ; 
it  may  be  claimed  that  this  disadvantage  is,  per- 
haps, more  than  counterbalanced  by  accompan3ing 
safeguards  against  the  evils  to  which,  through  its 
very  capabilities  in  this  respect,  extemporaneous 
worship  is  exposed.  In  the  use  of  prescribed 
forms,  the  officiating  minister  cannot  make  his  own 
feelings  and  experience,  private  and  often  peculiar, 
jar  upon  the  common  and  often  dissimilar  feelings 
and  experiences  of  his  fellow-worshipers  ;  nor  can 
one  minister  ever  be  praying  for  what  another  is, 
at  the  same  time,  deprecating.  Neither  can  our 
officiator  ever  fall  into  the  painfully  embarrassing 
hesitations,  mistakes  and  improprieties  of  expres- 
ion,  which  so  often  mar  the  public  devotional  exer- 
cises of  ungifted  minds  :  nor  can  he  ever  follow  the 
eccentricities  of  his  own  genius,  or  the  habits  which 
grow  out  of  custom,  and  thus  be  led  into  irreverent 
familiarities,  rash  extravagances,  startling  expres- 
sions, flights  of  oratory,  informing  narratives  before 
God,  or  virtual  sermonizing  before  men.  Of  our 
forms  no  one  can  ever  say,  what,  on  a  special  oc- 
casion, was  once  said  of  the  devotional  exercise  of 
a  popular  minister,  and  what,  if  intended  as  a 
grave  compliment,  was  yet  an  awful  sarcasm, — 
'*  That  was  the  most  eloquent  prayer  ever  address- 
ed to  a  Boston  audience.'' 

When  these  and  like  things  are  considered,  it 


WORSHIP. 


277 


will  be  evident  that  prescribed  forms  of  worship 
have  some  peculiar  advantages,  and  are  free  from 
some  special  disadvantages  ;  and  that,  if  extempo- 
raneous worship  be,  at  times,  and  for  an  occasion, 
remarkably  impressive  and  effective  ;  it  is,  at  other 
times,  and  on  other  occasions,  embarrassingly  lame, 
or  disturbingly  eccentric  ;  often  unprofitable  in  its 
matter,  and  more  often  didactic,  rather  than  devo- 
tional, in  its  dress  ;  while  worship  by  a  prescribed, 
and  scriptural  form  is  always  decent  and  dignified, 
devout  and  solemn,  elevated  and  edifying  ;  uniform- 
ly fit  to  be  offered  by  sinful  and  penitent,  believing 
and  adoring  mortals,  at  the  footstool  of  that  throne, 
whereon  is  seated  the  High  and  the  Holy,  the  all- 
knowing  and  the  all-gracioas  Immortal. 

It  would  be  easy  to  enlarge  on  these  and  similar 
points  of  comparison  ;  but  my  purpose  leads  me  no 
further  in  this  direction.  My  main  object  has 
been  to  present  the  subject  in  what  seems  to  me 
one  of  its  strong  lights  ;  and,  having  done  so,  to 
leave  it  for  contemplation  in  the  hours  of  still  and 
quiet  thought.  The  points,  thus  briefly  noticed, 
show  that  each  of  the  two  modes  of  worship  has  its 
peculiar  advantages,  and  its  peculiar  disadvanta- 
ges ;  and  that,  as  these  advantages  and  disadvanta- 
ges are  brought  before  different  minds  by  the 
forces  of  education,  amid  the  circumstances  of  life 
and  the  varieties  of  human  temperament,  it  is  not 


.278  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

strange  that  some  should  strongly  lean  to  the  ex- 
temporaneous, while  others  as  strongly  incline  to 
the  pre-coniposecl  form.  Allowing,  however,  that 
the  general  argument  on  either  side  were  more 
evenly  balanced  than  it  appears  to  be  ;  still,  the 
special  view  which  I  have  presented,  comes,  in  my 
judgment,  with  a  largely  preponderating  weight 
upon  the  question,  and  moves  the  balance  decided- 
ly in  favor  of  public  worship  by  a  scriptural, 
prescribed  form. 

Some,  I  doubt  not,  would  turn  vnj  argument  in 
favor  of  an  opposite  conclusion.  The  fact  that  such 
a  form  of  worship  tends  to  stereotype  the  faith  and 
doctrines  of  the  Church  on  the  minds  of  the  people, 
as  well  as  on  the  parchment  of  their  records,  fur- 
nishes, with  them,  the  very  reason  why  all  such 
forms  should  be  rejected  from  the  worship  of  the 
Church.  They  hold  not  to  this  fixedness  of  faith 
and  doctrine  in  religion.  They  are  believers  in 
TROGRESS,  in  development,  in  this  as  in  other  sub- 
jects. They  consider  religion,  like  philosophy,  im- 
provable ;  not  on]}'  capable  of  more  and  more 
perfect  comprehension,  and  tending  to  improve 
human  character  in  the  individual  and  in  the  mass  ; 
but  also,  admitting  of  changes  and  new  discoveries 
in  its  own  elementary  principles.  They  would, 
therefore,  take  away  forms,  creeds,  reverence — 
everything  that  can  stand  as  a  barrier  against  full 


WORSHIP.  279 

and  perfect  liberty  of  change  and  progress.  Dn- 
cliangeableness  in  the  Church's  faith  and  forms  is 
to  them  an  offense.  It  gives  no  chance  to  their  im- 
provements upon  what  is  commonly  regarded  as 
the  divine  plan  and  wisdom.  The  argument,  there- 
fore, here  urged,  instead  of  convincing,  sets  them 
more  firmly  than  ever  in  their  opposition  to  all 
prescript  worship,  even  by  the  best  of  forms. 

With  such  minds,  of  course,  I  have  no  hope  of 
prevailing  ;  but,  with  those  who  adopt  another  view, 
I  may  hope  the  argument  will  have  weight.  Those 
who  believe  that  revealed  truth,  as  it  came  from 
God,  has  in  it  fixed  elements  ;  that  Christianity 
has  a  settled  and  unchangeable  base  ;  that  God 
has  spoken  all  His  mind  concerning  the  way  of 
salvation,  and  distinctly  intimated  His  design  to 
''add  no  mora  ;"  and  that  the  faith  of  the  Church 
should  ever  answer  to  its  divine  Archetypes,  ''as 
in  water  face  answereth  to  face  ;" — those  who  be- 
lieve that  the  Church's  progress  and  development 
should  be  from  grace  to  grace,  and  from  faith  to 
faith, — not  by  changing  one  grace  for  another,  or 
an  old  faith  for  a  new,  but  by  carrying  every  grace 
to  its  highest  attainable  perfection,  and  by  devel- 
oping from  the  one  faith  of  the  Bible  its  richest 
fruits  in  the  holy  civilization  of  the  individual  and 
of  society  ; — those  who  hold  that  we  should  seek — 
not  for  repeated  changes  of  faith  and  doctrine,  but 


2  So  THE    LIVING  TEMPLE. 

— for  a  better  practical  as  well  as  intellectual  ap- 
prehension of  the  one  immutable  faith  and  doctrine 
of  God's  holy  Word  ;  those  who  regard  the  Church 
— not  as  a  subject  upon  which  this  world's  spirit  of 
curiosity  and  love  of  novelty  may  make  their  ex- 
periments, but — as  God's  instrument  for  operating 
on  this  world  in  the  blessed  work  of  reclaiming  it 
unto  a  just  allegiance  to  its  Eternal  King  ; — those 
who  thus  believe  and  hold  will,  I  apprehend,  feel 
a  peculiar  force  in  the  view  which  I  have  taken, 
and  realize  somewhat  of  its  weight  in  deciding  the 
question  upon  the  comparative  value  of  the  two 
great  forms  of  public  worship  in  the  Church.  The 
Scriptural  and  edifying  character  of  a  Liturgy  be- 
ing secured,  nothing  further  is  essentially  needed, 
save  a  faithful  preaching  of  "  Jesus  Christ  and  Him 
crucified,"  and  the  full  effusion,  promised  to  such 
preaching,  of  the  mighty  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
in  order  to  bring  into  ih^  Church  and  to  perpetu- 
ate her  highest  life  and  her  holiest  efficiency  ; — 
a  life  serene  as  it  would  be  enduring  ;  and  an 
efficiency  blessed  as  it  would  be  powerful. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

SCHISM. 

WE  are  still  engaged  in  treating  of  the  well- 
being  of  the  Church.  The  Church  is  the 
Body  of  Christ.  As  true,  holy  and  Catholic,  it  is 
His  spiritual,  or  mystical  Body.  As  developed 
under  needful  forms,  it  is  His  visible  Body  ;  so 
called  from  analogy  and  from  the  serving  of  the 
outward  to  the  inward. 

The  visible  Church,  of  which  we  are  now  treat- 
ing, has  its  being  and  its  WELL-being.  In  its  being, 
it  comprehends  essentials  only  ;  in  its  well-being, 
it  comprehends  with  these  essentials  what  is  requi- 
site to  their  best  condition.  Those  essentials  are — 
Christ,  the  Spirit,  and  the  body  of  m^embers  under 
the  true  Gospel  and  Sacraments.  What  is  requi- 
site to  their  best  condition  is — the  "setting  of  all 
the  members  in  the  Body,"  each  in  his  proper 
place,  the  higher  and  the  lower,  the  ministry  and 
the  people  ;  so  that  none  shall  be  wanting  and  none 
dislocated  ;  all  the  parts  put  rightly  together,  and 
all  sustaining,  helping,  and  perfecting  all  in  com- 

(381) 


282  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

fort,  growth  and  action.  This  is  the  visible  Church 
in  its  well-being  ;  in  its  best  health  as  well  as  in 
its  essential  life. 

This  distinction  between  the  being  and  the  well- 
being  of  the  Church,  between  the  Church  itself  and 
the  ministry  of  the  Church,  is,  as  I  have  before 
remarked,  all-important.  The  visible  Church  is 
the  whole  outward  Body  of  Christ.  The  ministry 
is  but  a  service  of  members  "  set  in  the  Church"  to 
aid  in  promoting  its  best  health  and  action.  The 
Church  may  have  this  ministry,  perfect  or  imper- 
fect ;  or,  so  far  as  the  human  hand  of  ordination  is 
concerned,  it  may,  by  possibility,  have  no  ministry 
at  all ;  and  according  as  it  is  in  one  or  another  of 
these  conditions,  it  will  realize  more  or  less  per- 
fectly its  true  welfare  ;  but,  in  its  worst  condition, 
so  long  as  it  has  Christ,  and  those  who  profess  the 
true  faith  of  Christ,  it  will  be  still — the  Church, 
the  Church  of  Christ  visible  in  all  the  earth.  This 
distinction  between  its  being  and  its  well-being,  is 
important  in  settling  the  question  of  the  true  com- 
prehension of  the  visible  Church. 

Of  the  ministry  of  this  Church  I  have  already 
spoken.  For  the  fullness  of  this  ministry,  two 
things  are  to  be  regarded  as  requisite — the  inward 
gift  and  the  outward  commission.  The  inward  gift 
is  always  and  immediately  from  the  Holy  Spirit  to 
the  ministering  man.     Its  bestowment  needs  no 


SCHISM.  283 

human  hand.     No  human  hand  conveys  it.     It  is 
indispensable  in  constituting  the  true  minister  of 
Christ.     It  never  fails  to  reach  him  to  whom  it  is 
sent.     It  never  falls  by  chance  on  the  wrong  head. 
With  the  outward  commission  it  is  somewhat  dif- 
ferent.     This  came  originally  from   Christ:    but 
mediately,  it  has  passed  through  the  hands  of  His 
first  Apostles,  and  of  those  to  whom  they  commit- 
ted it ;  and  coming  thus  through  human  hands,  and 
amid  human  fallibilities,  it  is  not  always  accompa- 
nied by  the  necessary  inward  gift.     The  outward 
commission  often  falls  on  the  wrong  head.     Never^ 
theless,  it  is   Christ's  commission  in  its  external 
sign  ;  and  though  many  bear  it  who  ought  not,  yet 
none  bear  it  rightly  but  such  as  bear  it  lawfully. 
As  it  has  been  committed  to  the  Apostles'  hands, 
it  should,  as  to  general  practice,  be  transmitted 
according  to  the  Apostles'  rule.     There  are,  in- 
deed, those  who  deny  the  necessity  of  any  external 
commission  to  the  ministry,  and  who  claim  that  the 
internal  gift  is  common  to  all  true  Christians  ;  or 
rather,  that  all  on  whom  it  is  conferred  may  and 
should,  even  without  any  outward  commission,  per- 
form all  ministerial  acts  whenever  and  wherever 
they  list.     With  such  theorists,  however,  the  pres- 
ent argument  has  no  concern.     It  is  addressed  to 
all  who,  like  ourselves,  admit  the  necessity  of  the 
outward   commission,   as   well   as   of  the   inward 


284  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

gift,  in  order  to  the  fullness  of  the  Christian  min- 
istry. 

In  a  former  Lecture,  I  professed  my  faith  in  the 
following  points,  viz  :  that,  in  transmitting  this 
outward  commission,  the  Apostles,  for  order's  sake 
and  discipline,  distributed  it  over  a  ministry  of 
three  grades  ;  that  thus  Episcopacy  became  every 
where,  from  the  Apostles'  time,  the  actual  form  of 
the  Christian  ministry  ;  that  thus,  though  not  of 
the  essence  of  the  Church,  yet  virtually  it  hath  the 
approval  of  Christ,  and  that,  therefore,  voluntarily 
and  needlessly  to  abandon  it  is  rashly  to  incur  the 
hazard,  and  insure  the  fact,  of  the  fearful  evils  of 
schism. 

Schism  may  be  defined  as  the  opposite  of  true 
Church  harmony.  It  is  opposed  to  the  well-being 
of  the  Church.  Hence,  in  treating  of  this  well- 
being,  it  becomes  desirable  to  know  what  is  meant 
by  this  true  harmony  and  what  by  schism,  as  a 
violation  of  this  harmony.  This,  then,  is  the  topic 
on  which  I  now  enter — Church  harmony.  What 
is  it  ?  By  what  is  it  violated  ?  What  are  the 
evils  of  its  violation  ?  And  how  may  these  evils 
best  be  cured  ?  We  take  up  these  questions  in 
their  order. 

1.  What  is  the  true  harmony  of  the  Church  ? 

In  the  abstract,  harmony  is  a  due  agreement 
between  all  the  parts  of  any  whole.    In  the  Church, 


SCHISM.  285 

perfect  harmony  is  a  perfect  agreement  of  all  its 
parts  in  the  one  whole  of  Christ's  Body.  In  this 
sense,  harmony  is  an  attribute  of  none  but  the 
spiritual  Church,  and  even  there  can  be  developed 
in  its  perfection  no  where  but  in  Heaven.  In  the 
visible  Church  on  earth,  harmony  may  be  defined 
as  an  agreement  of  all  the  parts,  so  far,  at  least, 
as  to  avoid  all  open,  organized  breach  of  Christian 
love  and  of  ecclesiastical  order.  There  may,  in- 
deed, be  among  the  different  parts  of  the  Church 
visible,  a  stinted  measure  of  Christian  love,  and 
a  feeble  realization  of  ecclesiastical  order,  consist- 
ently with  what  may  be  called  the  general  har- 
mony of  the  whole.  But,  when  the  agreement  of 
the  parts  is  disturbed  by  an  open,  organized  breach 
of  Christian  love  and  of  ecclesiastical  order,  there 
Church  harmony  is  lost.  The  parts  are  in  discord, 
— not  merely  by  a  partial  lack  of  Christian  love, 
and  a  feeble  realization  of  ecclesiastical  order,  but — 
by  a  positive  violation  of  both.  And  this  suggests 
the  answer  to  our  second  question. 

2.  By  what  is  the  harmony  of  the  Church  vio- 
lated ? 

I  reply  :  It  is  violated  by  the  open,  deliberate, 
needless  act  of  a  body  of  professed  Christians, 
banding  themselves  into  a  separate  organization 
as  a  visible  Church.  In  other  words,  it  is  violated 
by  SCHISM.     In  this  respect,  among  others,  schism 


286  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

differs  from  heresy.  Heresy  may  be  the  sin  of 
an  individual.  Schism  requires  the  combined  act 
of  a  greater  or  less  number  of  individuals.  A 
single  person,  unconnected  with  others  in  his  pecu- 
liar course,  can  scarcely  be  called  a  schismatic,  or 
said  to  be  guilty  of  schism.  But,  when  he  gathers 
other  persons  around  him,  and  proceeds,  deliber- 
ately and  without  necessity,  to  organize  a  separate 
Church,  in  violation  of  the  love  and  order  of  the 
whole  Body,  then  each  individual  in  that  organiza- 
tion, as  well  as  the  organization  itself,  becomes  a 
schismatic.     There  schism  exists. 

On  this  point  we  need  clear  ideas.  Bad  as  the 
evil  of  schism  may  be,  it  embarrasses  all  inquiry 
to  make  it  worse  than  it  is.  Some  write  and  speak 
as  if  they  thought  that  schism  cuts  off  from  the 
Body  of  Christ,  and  leaves  the  excluded  part  to 
die,  to  perish,  as  something  utterly  out  of  the 
Church.  None,  indeed,  would  say  that  every  in- 
dividual, involved  in  schism,  is  necessarily  left  to 
perish  everlastingly.  They  mean  no  more  than 
this  :  that  the  mass  of  individuals,  thus  involved, 
is  actually  left  to  perish  ecclesiastically,  as  some- 
thing no  longer  in,  or  of,  the  Church.  This  idea 
of  schism  sometimes  comes  out  ia  print.  Even 
Chillingworth,  in  his  immortal  work,  writes  so  as, 
on  the  whole,  to  leave  the  impression  that  if  cer- 
tain ancient  and  modern  Churches,  existing  separ- 


SCHISM.  287 

ately  from  that  of  Rome,  could  be  shown  to  be 
actually  and  really  in  a  state  of  schism,  it  would 
be  tantamount  to  a  confession  that  they  thereby 
ceased  to  belong,  as  parts,  to  the  one  visible  Church 
Catholic.  It  seems  to  me  that  his  great  argument 
amounts  mainly  to  this,  that  those  separate  Churches 
were  and  are  parts  of  the  one  Catholic  Church,  be- 
cause they  were  not,  and  are  not  in  a  state  of  schism. 
That  those  Churches  were  not,  and  are  not  all  in 
a  state  of  schism  we  rejoice  to  believe.  Still, 
there  has  been  and  there  is,  such  a  thing  as  schism, 
and  it  is  well  for  us  to  know  clearly  what  it  is. 
The  idea  that  schism  cuts  off  from  the  Church, 
though  it  sometimes  comes  out  in  print,  yet,  among 
us,  is  rather,  in  general,  the  practical  inference  of 
unthinking  minds  from  the  extravagant  colors  in 
which  their  teachers  are  in  the  habit  of  painting 
the  sin  of  schism.  But,  in  whatever  shape  it 
comes,  it  is  a  false  idea.  Schism  separates  not 
from  the  Church.  To  see  the  truth  of  this,  let 
us  look  at  the  thing  itself.  What  is  schism  ?  In 
what  are  we  to  find  its  essence  ? 

If  possible,  this  question  must  be  settled  by 
reference  to  the  Scriptures,  and  not  by  a  search 
among  the  doctors  of  au}^  age,  especially  not 
among  those  who  leave  the  Scriptures  out  of  view. 
Looking,  then,  at  the  Scriptures,  I  think  we  shall 
see  that  schism  is — not  a  loss  of  Church  essence, 


288  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

but — a  breach  upon  Churcli  love  ;  not  a  severance 
from  the  unity  of  the  Church,  but  a  violation  of  the 
order  of  the  Church. 

(1.)  I  refer,  first,  to  1  Cor.  12  :  25.  ''  That  there 
should  be  no  schism  in  the  body.^'  Schism,  then, 
exists  ''in  the  body,"  instead  of  cutting  off  from 
the  body  ;  in  the  Church,  instead  of  putting  out  of 
the  Church.  And  what  this  thiug  in  the  body 
is,  which  Christians  are  to  avoid,  we  may  learn 
from  what  follows  the  words  just  cited  :  "  That 
there  should  be  no  schism  in  the  body  ;  but,  that 
the  members  should  have  the  same  care,  one  for 
another.  And  whether  one  member  suffer,  all  the 
members  suffer  with  it ;  or  one  member  be  honored, 
all  the  members  rejoice  with  it."  Schism,  then,  is 
the  opposite  of  this  mutual  care,  this  loving  sympa- 
thy, of  all  the  members  for  and  with  each  other. 
It  is  a  non-intercourse,  a  lack  of  mutual  care,  a  loss 
of  loving  sympathy,  among  the  members  of  the 
same  body.  It  is,  as  I  have  said,  a  breach  upon 
the  Church's  love,  a  disturbance  of  the  Church's 
harmony.  As  such,  it  is  in  and  of  the  Church 
itself  And  this  is  one  of  its  saddest  features.  It 
is  in  the  Church,  whose  highest  law  should  be  love  ; 
it  is  among  brethren,  between  whom  all  should  be 
harmony.  In  the  Church,/'  if  one  member  suffer" 
by  persecution,  or  otherwise,  "all  the  members 
should  suffer  with  it  "  or  there  is  a  breach  of  love  : 


SCHISM.  289 

''or  if  one  member  be  honored,"  by  promotion  to 
higher  office,  or  other  distinction,  ''all  the  members 
should  rejoice  with  it,"  or  there  is  a  violation  of 
harmony. 

This  is  the  essence  of  schism  :  and  all  that  can 
be  wanting  to  make  it  a  fact,  cognizable  in  ecclesi- 
astical discipline,  is,  that  this  spirit  of  the  evil 
should  embody  itself  in  overt  organization,  as  a 
separate  sect  in  the  Church.  The  spirit  of  the  evil 
is  bad  enough  as  a  breach  of  love  and  a  violation 
of  harmony  ;  but  by  organization  it  becomes  an 
organized  sin.  I  speak,  now,  of  ecclesiastical  or- 
ganizations, properly  so  called,  the  formation  of 
separate  Churches  ;  and  not  of  social  organizations, 
the  formation  of  societies  for  allowable  objects  in 
the  same  Church.  Schism  becomes  a  breach  of 
Church  love,  and  a  violation  of  Church  harmony, 
as  a  cognizable  fact,  by  the  voluntary  and  needless 
formation  of  separate  Churches  ;  while  yet,  the  act 
leaves  these  separate  Churches  still  parts  of  the 
one  visible  Church  Catholic.  It  is  thus  that  schism 
is  "in  the  body,''  and  that,  by  schism,  no  part  is 
cut  off  from  the  body.  To  illustrate  this  view,  let 
us  take  a  wider  survey  of  Scripture,  as  bearing  on 
this  point. 

(2.)  Matt.  27  :  51.  Here  the  word  is  in  its  ver- 
bal form.  At  the  Crucifixion,  "  the  veil  of  the 
Temple  was  rent  in  twain  from  the  top  to  the  bot- 
19 


290  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

torn."  That  veil  was  in  a  state  of  physical  schism. 
It  was  "rent  in  twain."  Or,  to  make  the  phrase 
more  Greek,  it  was  "schismed."  And  yet  by 
that  fact,  neither  of  the  parts  ceased  to  belong  to 
the  one  veil.  It  was  still  one  veil,  though  in  two 
parts  ;  and  these  two  parts  were  capable  of  being 
closely  reunited. 

(3.)  Mark  1  :  10.  Here  also  the  word  is  in  its 
verbal  form.  At  the  baptismal  scene,  Jesus,  "  com- 
ing up  from  the  water,  saw  the  heavens  opened  ;" 
literally,  "  schismed ;"  rent,  like  the  torn  curtain. 
And  yet  there  were  not  two  heavens.  It  was  bat 
the  one  heavens  ;  schismed  for  a  moment,  and  in  a 
moment  closed  again  in  one  ;  and  not  even  for  that 
moment,  putting  either  part  out  of  heaven. 

(4.)  Matt.  9  :  16.  In  this  passage  the  word  is  in 
its  substantive  form.  "  No  man  putteth  a  piece  of 
new  cloth  unto  an  old  garment :  for  that  which  is 
put  in  to  fill  it  up,  taketh  from  the  garment,  and 
the  rent  is  made  worse. ^'  Literally,  ''  the  schism 
is  made  worse."  And  yet,  at  the  worst,  it  is  but 
a  schism  in  a  garment.  It  is  not  a  casting  off  of  a 
part,  so  that  it  ceases  to  be  a  part,  of  the  garment. 
The  garment  may  be  mended  by  skilfully  sewing 
the  parts  together. 

(5.)  John  7:43;  9:16;  and  10:19.  These 
passages  come  nearer  our  subject.  On  several 
occasions,  Christ  and  His  Discourses  had  set  the 


SCHISM.  291 

Jews  at  fierce  reasonings  among  themselves.  Once, 
they  differed  about  tie  place  of  Christ's  birth  ;  and 
then  it  is  said,  ''  there  was  a  division,"  schism, 
''  among  the  people  because  of  Him."  Again,  they 
differed  about  the  morality  of  His  healing  on  the 
Sabbath  day;  and  then  again  it  is  said,  "there 
was  a  division,"  schism,  "among  them."  And 
still  again,  they  differed  about  His  Discourse  on 
the  sheepfold,  and  His  laying  down  His  life  for  the 
sheep;  and  still  again  it  is  said,  "There  was  a 
division,  therefore,  again,"  another  schism,  "among 
the  Jews  for  these  sayings."  And  yet,  on  all  these 
occasions,  the  schism  was  among  the  Jews  ;  neither 
party  was  cut  off  from  the  other,  or  from  the  Jew- 
ish body  at  large.  Their  harmony  of  opinion  was 
broken ;  and  perhaps  their  bond  of  love  was  for 
the  moment  injured  by  their  hot  disputings  ;  but 
neither  party  ceased  to  be  Jews,  or  to  belong  to 
the  great  Jewish  commonwealth. 

(6.)  1  Cor.  1:10;  1  Cor.  11  :  18.  These  pas- 
sages come  still  nearer  our  subject.  In  the  former, 
St.  Paul  beseeches  his  Corinthian  "brethren,  by 
the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  they  all 
speak  the  same  thing  ;  that  there  be  no  divisions," 
schisms,  "  among  them  ;  but  that  they  be  perfectly 
joined  together  in  the  same  mind  and  in  the  same 
judgment."  And  in  the  latter,  he  says  :  "I  hear 
that  there  be  divisions,"  schisms,   "among  you." 


292  THE  LIVma  TEMPLE. 

Here,  the  meaning  of  the  word  is  quite  manifest. 
The  Apostle  was  addressing  a  part  of  the  Church, 
which  was  full  of  the  seeds  of  schism,  and  of  schism 
of  the  worst  kind  ;  schism  right  under  the  eye  of 
an  Apostle,  and  in  the  young  heart  itself  of  the 
Church.  He  was  rebuking  those  who  had  already 
begun  to  set  up,  some  for  Paul,  some  for  Apollos, 
some  for  Cephas,  and  some  for  Christ ;  who  were 
already  getting  up  a  non-intercourse,  and  losing 
their  mutual  care  and  forgetting  their  loving  sym- 
pathy, for  and  with  each  other,  in  their  unhol}^ 
jealousy  and  zeal  for  building  up  Paul's  party,  and 
Apollos 's  party,  and  Peter's  party,  and  Christ's 
party  ;  and  striving  to  see  which  could  make  their 
own  most  popular  and  most  powerful.  And  yet, 
he  addressed  them  all  as  "brethren,"  and  besought 
them  all,  by  the  dearest  of  names,  that  they  would 
heal  their  incipient  schisms,  and  live  in  the  oneness 
of  all-cementing  love  for  the  common  truth  and  for 
their  common  Lord.  He  spoke  of  their  young 
schisms  as  being  "  among  them,"  and  not  as  cutting 
off  Paul's  party,  or  Peter's  party,  from  Christ,  or 
from  His  Church,  and  leaving  the  part  so  cut  off 
as  no  longer  a  portion  of  the  Saviour's  Body.  He 
treated  schism  as  a  thing  which  was  "  in  the  body," 
which  belonged  to  the  body,  and  in  which  every 
part  of  the  body  was  most  tenderly  concerned.  It 
was  a  direful  evil,  even  in  its  earliest  development ; 


SCHISM,  2p3 

and,  so  far  as  his  labors  and  his  prayers  could  go, 
he  would  not  have  it  in  the  Church  of  Christ. 

From  this  examination  of  various  passages,  then, 
we  rest  with  confirmed  confidence  in  our  definition 
of  schism.  It  is  a  rent,  a  wound,  in  the  visible 
body  of  our  Lord,  Christ.  It  is  a  breach  upon 
Church  love,  and  a  rupture  of  Church  harmony.  It 
is  one  of  the  ways,  in  which  the  one  Church  has 
been  divided  and  made  many  Churches.  Separate 
Churches  may,  indeed,  be  formed  without  schism  ; 
but  schism  is  one  of  the  forms  of  separation.  The 
spirit  of  schism  may  exist  where  the  fact  of  schism 
has  not  become  cognizable.  It  generally  arises 
out  of  too  curious  disputes  about  disputable,  per- 
haps trifling  matters  of  opinion  and  judgment ; 
though  sometimes  out  of  the  heats  of  personal  pre- 
ferences, and  party  ambitions  ;  and  it  ends  in  organ- 
ized non-intercourse,  the  jealousies  and  strifes  of 
sects,  the  internal  dissentions  of  that  great  Chris- 
tian family,  which  ought  ever  to  "■  live  in  perfect 
love  and  peace  together." 

Such,  when  brought  out  into  cognizable  fact,  is 
schism  ;  a  melancholy  rent,  a  sore  festering  wound, 
in  the  visible  body  of  Christ.  One  of  its  worst 
characteristics  is,  that  it  is  "  in  ih^  body ;"  and  yet 
this  worst  reveals  its  best ;  it  is  not  fatal  to  the 
body  ;  it  may  be  healed.  Individuals  may,  perad- 
venture,  perish    everlastingly   for   fomenting    the 


294  ^^^  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

causes  and  the  progress  of  schism ;  but  schism 
itself  destroyeth  not  the  body  of  the  Church,  or  the 
separated  parts  of  which  it  is  composed.  Those 
melancholy  rents  in  the  veil  of  the  outer  temple,  in 
the  garment  of  the  visible  body,  may,  by  the  deft 
skill  of  Grod's  true  workmen,  under  the  teaching  of 
God's  good  Spirit,  be  mended  so  as  never  more  to 
appear.  Those  deep  wounds  in  Christ's  outer  flesh 
may,  by  divine  medicaments,  be  all  healed,  so  that, 
in  the  outei*,  as  in  the  inner  Church,  there  shall  be 
nought  but  soundness,  a  life  in  every  part,  a  help- 
ing for  each  from  all  the  members.  The  schismed 
firmament  of  the  Church's  peace  may,  by  the 
realized  power  of  Her  Head,  be  perfectly  closed, 
so  that  nothing  shall  ever  rend,  or  pass  it  again  ; 
but  the  dove-like  Spirit  of  God,  having  entered  in 
olden  times,  shall  once  more  be  felt,  in  its  revived 
marvels,  dropping  silently  and  everywhere,  the 
dews  of  sweet,  gentle,  all-baptizing  love.  Every 
passage,  which  has  been  examined,  demonstrates, 
or  favors,  the  truth  that  schism  may  be  healed  ; 
and  that,  therefore,  it  is  and  must  be,  a  fact  in  the 
body,  and  not  a  severance  from  the  body.  The 
disturbed  harmony  of  the  parts  may  be  restored, 
and  thus  the  well-being  of  the  whole  made  finally 
complete. 

3.  What  are  the  evils  of  this  violation  of  Church 
harmony  ? 


SCHISM.  295 

As  we  have  seen  in  what  this  violation  consists, 
we  may  look  at  its  evils  by  way  of  motive  to  at- 
tempt its  cure,  and  to  bless  God  that  it  is  curable. 

(1.)  And  first,  something  of  the  evils  of  schism 
will  be  manifest  on  considering  it  as  a  breach  of 
the  Church's  love.  The  bond  of  sacred  brother- 
hood broken  ;  intestine  broils,  jealousies,  divisions, 
oppositions  ;  love  starved  and  dwarfed,  and  the  un- 
loving spirit  nursed  to  a  giant ;  and  all  this  among 
a  household  of  members,  who  have  one  Gospel,  the 
living  oracles  of  truth  ;  who  hold  one  Head,  Christ 
Jesus  the  Lord  ;  and  who  hope  to  be  saved  by  His 
death  from  one  hell,  and  to  be  raised  by  His  lifa  to 
one  heaven  ;  here  is  a  text  for  the  greatest  sermon 
that  man  ever  preached  !  And  yet,  the  text  itself 
is,  perhaps,  greater  than  any  sermon  on  it  that  could 
be  preached.  Some  things  seem  lessened  by  all  at- 
tempts to  make  their  greatness  more  than  self-evi- 
dent. Look  at  it,  then,  and  mourn  ;  that  broken 
bond  of  brotherhood  in  the  family  of  Jesus  ! 

(2.)  Second  :  another  view  of  the  evils  of  schism 
presents  itself  when  we  regard  it  as  a  wound  in- 
flicted on  the  visible  Church.  The  body  of  Christ 
wounded  in  the  house  of  its  friends !  Which  of  us 
would  like  to  drag  about  a  wounded,  bleeding,  al- 
most fainting  body  ?  Who  could  do  his  day's  work 
well,  in  such  a  state,  lame,  weak,  tottering  ?  Life- 
blood  is  flowing  from  the  body  of  Christ.     It  hath 


296  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

not  half  its  proper  strength.  It  moves  feebly  and 
slowly.  It"  doth  not  well  transact  Christ's  day's 
work  on  the  world's  great  harvest-field.  It  is  sad 
to  think  of  the  wonnds  in  this  body  of  Christ ! 

(3.)  Third :  we  have  another  view  of  the  evils  of 
schism,  when  we  reflect  that  it  feeds  infidelity. 
This,  indeed,  is  an  indirect  effect  of  schism  ;  still  it 
is  certain  to  follow,  as  our  eyes  too  often  see.  The 
mere  natural  heart  loves  not  to  coin,  or  to  pay, 
much  money  for  the  Gospel.  In  a  single  village, 
one  thousand  souls  feel  but  lightly  the  care  of  one 
true  minister  of  Christ  ;  but,  if  divided  and  called 
to  care  for  three  or  four,  of  jarring  names,  the  bur- 
den presses  heavily,  and  the  natural  heart  eases 
itself  by  stepping  out  from  under  that  weight,  and 
leaving  it  to  press  more  heavily  still  on  those  who 
remain.  Thus,  in  time,  many  natural  hearts,  who, 
might  otherwise  have  been  reconciled  and  saved, 
ease  themselves  by  stepping  aside  and  walking  in 
none  of  the  ways  of  the  Church.  Then  steps  in 
among  them  the  specious,  covert  infidel,  who 
preaches  for  nothing,  poisons  them  with  his  nothing- 
isms,  and,  at  last,  gathers  and  bands  them  into  a 
synagogue  of  Satan,  and  trains  them  in  the  inex- 
pensive ritual  of  hell !  Behold  the  source  of  much 
of  the  rampant  infidelity  of  the  world  and  especially 
of  our  otherwise  favored  country  ! 

(4.)  Fourth :  a  still  further  view  of  the  evils  of 


8GHI8M.  297 

schism  meets  iis  in  the  fact,  that  it  throws  great  ad- 
vantage on  the  side  of  religious  error  and  su" 
perstition.  Theological  error,  in  the  great,  over- 
shadowing Babel  of  the  seven-hilled  city,  flourishes 
while  the  friends  of  simple,  scriptural  truth  are 
rent  asunder  by  divisions  ;  and  her  superstitions 
grow  up  in  open  day,  while  that  truth  is  so  nearly 
hidden  amid  the  dust  of  sectarian  contests.  Such 
is  the  present  condition  of  the  Christian  world. 
Errors  thicken  and  grow  rank  under  the  vast  shad- 
ow that  shelters  them,  and  superstition,  with  its 
serried  ranks  never  broken,  draws  thousands  from 
our  divided  hosts.  Men  love  repose  ;  and  naturally 
feel  little  horror  of  either  religious  error  or  religi- 
ous darkness.  If,  therefore,  truth  shine  not  clear 
and  calm  ;  if  there  be  always  dust  and  strife  and 
separations  about  it,  they  indolently  seek  refuge  in 
notions  which  are  quietly  false,  or  sentimentally 
shelter  themselves  under  superstitions  which  are 
tranquilly  dark.  The  quiet  and  the  tranquillity 
allure  them  ;  while  the  falsehood  and  the  darkness 
are  not  terrifying.  False  religion  imposingly 
draped  in  the  pomps  of  superstition,  is  more  agree- 
able to  the  natural  heart,  than  the  true,  though 
simply  robed  in  the  garments  of  light ;  incompara- 
bly more  so,  when  ih^  true  is  disfigured  in  gar- 
ments, rent  by  the  hands  of  division  and  smeared 
with  the  blood  of  contention.     If  Christians  stay 


298  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

not  the  spirit  of  their  schisms  ;  if  they  consent  not 
to  live  together  in  love,  and  in  the  heart  of  their 
great,  common  truths  ;  it  is  manifest  that  nothing 
but  miracles  revived  can  keep  victory  from  the 
side  of  error  and  superstition  ;  or  save  the  Church 
from  being  covered  once  again  with  the  double  pall 
of  falsehood  and  of  darkness  ! 

This  is  but  a  glimpse  of  the  evils  of  schism  ;  but, 
it  is  enough  for  my  purpose.  Out  of  these  evils  God 
doubtless  brings  some  good  ;  perhaps  He  will  yet 
bring  the  greatest.  Contest  and  even  divisions 
about  the  truth  certainly  show  that  some  minds  at 
least  are  alive  and  earnest  in  their  thoughts  about 
it ;  and  this  may  be  supposed  to  prognosticate  the 
final  victory  of  truth.  And  then,  the  various  di- 
visions in  the  Church  may  doubtless  be  set  to  guard 
each  other,  so  that  none  shall  hide,  corrupt  or  mu- 
tilate the  Gospel.  Moreover,  they  do  oft  "pro- 
voke one  another,''  if  not  "  to  love  and  good  works," 
at  least  to  zeal  and  great  works.  Still,  let  the  wise 
God  make  what  use  of  them  He  please,  schisms, 
in  themselves,  are  unspeakably  evil,  and  by  the 
Bible  itself  we  are  taught  to  seek  their  cure. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  see  the  connection  of  these 
views  of  schism  not  only  with  the  well-being  of 
the  Church  in  general,  but  aho  Avith  the  ministry 
and  government  of  the  Church  in  particular.  If 
Episcopacy  and  its  mode  of  government  were  the 


SCHISM.  299 

models  left  by  the  Apostles,  and  at  first  every- 
where received  in  the  Church,  and  if,  having  such 
an  origin,  they  have  thereby  Christ's  virtual  ap- 
proval, then  needlessly  and  voluntarily  to  abandon 
those  models  is  rashly  to  incur  the  hazard  of  all 
the  evils  of  schism.  I  say — not  that  the  mere 
lack  of  Episcopacy  and  its  mode  of  government 
is,  in  and  of  itself,  or  independently  of  its  cause, 
a  schism  ;  but — that  the  voluntary  and  needless 
abandonment  of  those  models  endangers,  nay,  in- 
evitably produces,  schism.  Such  a  setting  up  of 
new  and  diverse  models  of  ministry  and  govern- 
ment, unavoidably  puts  as  many  diverse  masses  of 
members  upon  saying  again,  "I  am  of  Paul,  and 
I  of  Apollos,  and  I  of  Cephas,  and  I  of  Christ, '^ 
and,  out  of  these  contents,  it  breeds  all  that  I  have 
spoken  of  as  mischievous  and  full  of  evil.  A  loss 
of  Episcopacy,  or  of  all  ministry,  so  far  as  the 
ministry  comes  b}^  the  hand  of  human  ordination, 
is  not  a  loss  of  the  Church  itself,  for  the  ministry 
is  "  in  the  Church,"  and  not  the  Church  in  the  min- 
istry ;  but.  Episcopacy  having  Apostolic  origin, 
adherence  to  it  where  possible  consistently  with 
the  higher  claims  of  Divine  Truth,  is  not  a  matter 
of  mere  expediency  ;  it  is  a  matter  of  duty  due  to 
the  cause  of  peace  and  order  and  the  Church's  rule. 

4.  How  may  the  evils  of  schism  best  be  cured  ? 

Upon  the  importance  of  this  question  it  will  not 


300  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

be  necessary  to  dwell.  Nor  will  it  be  necessary 
to  go  back  with  the  inquiry,  who,  or  what  has  made 
all  our  schisms  ?  We  may  take  these  evils  as 
facts,  and  it  will  be  enough  to  know  that  they  have 
been  made  by  many  hands,  and  with  many  motives, 
and  that  a  departure  from  Episcopacy  is  but  one 
among  many  of  this  evil's  springs  ;  that,  in  many, 
if  not  most,  of  the  schisms  which  have  happened, 
both  sides  have  been  more  or  less  in  fault ;  and 
that,  in  some  cases,  the  separation  has  been  so  far 
justifiable  as  it  has  been  forced  on  the  separating 
party,  not  only  as  the  less  of  two  evils,  but  as  the 
only  resort  this  side  of  a  traitorous  abandonment 
of  truth,  of  conscience  and  of  Christ.  It  is  enough 
for  us  to  know  these  things.  Our  main  business  is 
with  the  facts  themselves,  and  not  with  their  causes. 
The  facts  exist.  They  are  evils.  And  yet,  they 
are  curable  evils.  How  may  they  best  be  cured  ? 
This  is  the  only  reasonable  question  now  before 
us,  and  to  this  question  I  reply  : 

(1.)  These  evils  are  not  to  be  cured  by  any  at- 
tempt to  obliterate  all  the  dividing  lines  which 
have  been  drawn  through  the  Church.  These 
lines  are  possibly  too  deep  ever  to  be  obliterated 
in  this  world.  These  evils  must  be  cured  by  out- 
living, overcoming  and  extinguishing  the  bad  spirit 
in  which  they  were  engendered,  by  which  they  are 
still  cherished,  and  from  which  they  draw  their 


scmsM. 


301 


chief  power  for  mischief  In  the  view  which  the 
Bible  gives  of  schism,  as  a  rent,  a  wound,  in  that 
Body  of  Christ,  which  is  the  Church,  it  is  plain 
that,  if  we  hope  for  a  cure  of  its  evils,  we  must 
cease  to  regard  and  speak  of  Non-Episcopal  com- 
munions as  not  belonging  to  the  visible  Church. 
It  is  not  by  pronouncing  this  decision  over  them 
that  these  deep-seated  evils  are  to  be  cured.  This 
decision,  however  fond  some  may  be  of  uttering  it, 
is  unfounded,  and  does  but  embitter  those  whom 
we  ought  to  win.  They  are  not  out  of  the  Church. 
The  very  schisms  between  them  and  us  are  in  the 
Church.  They  are  but  wounds  in  this  visible  Body 
of  our  Eedeemer,  and  the  spirit  in  which  some 
treat  these  wounds,  does  but  inflame  them,  and 
make  them  bleed  more  profusely.  We  must  quit 
this  policy,  or  consent  to  see  the  spirit,  as  well  as 
name. of  schism,  indelible  !  In  looking  at  the  visi- 
ble Body  of  Christ,  all  wounded  and  weakened  as 
it  is,  some  act  as  if  they  thought  its  cure  were  to 
be  effected  by  continually  thrusting  into  its  wounds 
the  rough  and  rusty  probes  of  their  exclusive  and 
excluding  claims.  Manifestly  this  is  a  fatal  course. 
It  can  but  aggravate  the  evil  and  bring  on  all  but 
death  ! 

(2.)  Were  I  required  to  prescribe  a  remedy,  I 
should  confess  my  inability  to  do  anything  beyond 
the  following  brief  directions.     If  these  wounds 


202  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE, 

are  to  be  probed  at  all,  let  it  be  witli  the  Spirit's 
soft  and  cleansing  ray  of  Life.  For  the  rest,  let 
a  mollifying  preparation  of  kind  offices  and  peace- 
ful deeds  be  laid  on,  to  remove  all  inflammation, 
and  to  induce  a  healing  state.  Then,  lay  across 
the  wounds  as  many  as  possible  of  the  adhesive 
bands  of  love  ;  draw  the  parts  gently  but  closely 
together,  and  leave  the  inward,  healing  life  of  the 
Spirit  to  perfect  the  blessed  work.  Then  the  still 
remaining  scar-lines  from  the  name  of  schism 
would  not  be  disfiguringly  deep,  while  the  poison 
virulence  from  the  heart  of  schism  would  all  be 
gone  ;  the  Body  of  Christ  whole  and  sound  again  ; 
its  many  parts  and  many  members,  bound  in  liv- 
ing harmony,  each  helping  each,  and  all  made  one 
in  perfect,  generous,  holy  sympathy.  God  send 
His  Spirit  from  on  high  to  speed  this  divine  re- 
covery of  His  Church  ! 

This  mode  of  cure  recommends  no  indifference 
to  important  distinctive  truths  and  principles,  even 
though  they  be  not  fundamental  ;  no  blending  of 
other  outward  institutions  with  our  own,  and  no 
breaking  down  of  our  own  by  way  of  showing  our 
respect  for  those  of  others.  It  means  simply  this  : 
that  every  part  of  the  Church  should  freely  ac- 
knowledge that  all  the  other  parts  belong,  as  really 
as  itself,  to  the  visible  Body  of  Christ :  that  each 
should  then  fill  its  providentially  assigned  lot  with 


SVHI8M.  303 


peacefully  and  toilfully  active  love  ;  and  that  all, 
with  consenting  prayer  to  God,  should  seek,  in  its 
fullness,  ''  the  residue  of  the  Spirit,"  and  labor  to 
"grow  up  into  Christ  in  all  things  which  is  the 
Head/'  This,  it  may  be  believed,  is  God's  way 
of  healing  the  wounds  of  His  Church  ;  and,  in  this 
way  alone,  we  may  safely  assume,  can  ''  the  whole 
Body,  fitly  joined  together  and  compacted  by  that 
which  every  joint  supplieth,  make,  in  the  measure 
of  every  single  part,  an  increase  of  the  Body  unto 
the  edifying  of  itself  in  Love." 

This  gracious  consummation  the  Writer  may 
never  live  to  see  ;  but  it  is  not  a  chimera — a  thing 
to  be  talked  of,  but  not  hoped  for.  It  is  God's 
purposed  blessing  to  His  Church.  It  waits  to  de- 
scend. And  we  may  labor,  and  should  seek  to 
hasten  or  to  realize  its  down-coming.  In  doing  so, 
we  are  drawing  in  a  line  with  all  God's  plans  and 
influences,  and  not  at  cross-purposes  with  both  His 
Gospel  and  His  Spirit.  In  all  main,  essential 
truths,  all  Christians  may,  as  the  Apostle  expresses 
the  idea  in  a  passage  already  quoted,  ''  Speak  the 
same  thing,  and  be  perfectly  joined  together  in  the 
same  mind  and  in  the  same  judgment."  Perfect 
uniformity  of  opinion  in  all  things,  especially  in 
all  things  touching  outward  institutes,  was  never 
intended  of  God,  and  can  never  be  enforced  or 
secured  by  man.     The  great,  vital  sun-truths  of 


304  TEE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

the  Gospel,  these  are  the  only  ones  that  can  be 
made  to  shine,  in  the  main,  on  all  minds  alike  ; 
and  it  is  by  feeling  the  shining  of  these  alone, 
made  quickening  by  the  Holy  One,  that  all  Chris- 
tians can  be  melted  into  the  oneness  of  love,  made 
fruitful  in  the  effects  of  Truth,  and  sped  on  their 
way  to  Heaven  amid  all  the  blessings  of  peace. 


CHAPTER   V. 

UNITY. 

ONE  of  the  most  universal  definitions  of  the 
Church,  whether  in  its  inward  and  spiritual, 
or  in  its  outward  and  visible  being,  is  that  given 
by  the  Apostle  Paul,  when  he  calls  it  "  Many 
members,  yet  but  one  body.'' 

In  the  last  Chapter,  I  spoke  of  the  harmony  of 
the  Church,  and  of  schism  as  a  fact,  existing  in  the 
Church,  and  sadly  disturbing  that  harmony.  It 
would  not  be  right  to  dismiss  the  consideration  of 
the  well-being  of  the  Church  without  speaking  of 
UNITY  also,  as  a  blessed  and  binding  fact,  co-exist- 
ing in  the  Church,  and  incapable  of  being  destroy- 
ed by  even  so  bad  a  thing  as  heresy.  Unity  is  as 
easily  distinguishable  from  harmony  as  heresy  is 
from  schism.  Harmony,  as  a  due  agreement  of 
parts,  may  be  disturbed  ;  but  unity,  as  the  consis- 
tence of  a  whole,  cannot  be  destroyed.  Schism 
may  disturb  the  harmony  which  ought  to  reign 
among  the  parts  of  the  Church  ;  but  heresy  cuts  off 
from  the  Church,  so  that  the  excluded  member 
20  (305) 


3o6  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

ceases  to  belon'g  to  it,  leaving  the  unity  of  the 
Church  untouched,  just  as  we  may  cut  off  a  dead 
limb  from  a  tree  and  yet  leave  the  unity  of  that 
tree  unharmed.  A  thing  which  is  one,  cannot,  at 
the  same  time  and  in  the  same  sense,  be  two. 
Unity  is  involved  in  the  very  idea  of  the  Church. 
Locally,  the  Church  of  Christ  is  distributed  into 
many  Churches  ;  yet,  really,  Christ  hath  but  one 
Church  :  '*  Many  members,"  or  parts,  "  yet  but  one 
body.'^  In  His  great  intercessory  prayer,  Christ 
prayed  for  this  unit}^,  when  He  asked  for  His  disci- 
ples, in  all  places  and  through  all  time,  that  they 
all  may  be  one  ;  as  Thou,  Father,  art  in  me  and  I 
in  Thee,  that  they  also  may  be  one  in  us."  That 
prayer  has  never  returned  into  His  bosom  void.  It 
went  up  to  be  answered,  not  denied  ;  and  it  has 
been  answered,  and  to  the  end  shall  continue  unde- 
nied.  This  unity  belongs  to  the  whole  subject,  the 
true  comprehension  of  the  Church.  In  this  com- 
prehension the  Church  necessarily  includes  her 
own  unity. 

But,  what  is  this  unity  ?  This  is  one  of  the  great 
questions  of  our  age.  And  it  is  a  question,  upon 
which,  as  it  seems  to  me,  some  discussions  bring 
darkness  rather  than  light.  I  pray  God  that  some 
one  may  bring  it,  if  not  into  perfect  light,  at  least 
out  of  the  thick  darkness.  If  the  present  effort 
should  contribute  even  a  little  towards  such  a  re- 


UNITY.  307 

suit,  the  Author  will  not  have  labored  wholly  in 
vain. 

Unity,  then,  belongs  to  the  Church,  both  as  in- 
ward and  spiritual,  and  as  outward  and  visible. 

1.  It  belongs  to  the  spieitual  Church ;  that  true 
and  holy  Church  Catholic  of  which  I  have  said  so 
much.  And  this,  we  may  believe,  is,  in  its  highest, 
fullest  sense,  the  Unity  for  which  Christ  prayed  on 
the  occasion,  to  which  reference  has  already  been 
made.  It  is  that  unity  which,  in  the  one  living 
body,  the  one  ''  communion  of  saints,^'  binds  every 
true  believer  to  Christ,  the  Divine  Head,  by  the 
bond  of  one  true  scriptural  faith  ;  a  faith  that  shows 
its  vitalizing  life  in  one  holy,  universal  love.  This 
blessed  unity  can  never  be  broken.  It  lies  above 
the  reach,  and  therefore  beyond  the  touch,  of 
earth's  disturbing  causes.  In  its  very  essence, 
this  unity  is  indestructible.  In  the  spiritual  bond, 
by  which  it  unites  the  soul  to  the  Saviour,  and  the 
Christian  to  his  brother  Christian,  it  is  as  intangi- 
ble to  the  hand  of  outward  events  as  the  soul  her- 
self is  to  the  hand  of  death.  It  is  out  of  the  reach 
of  all  such  disturbing  causes.  It  is  linked  with  the 
life,  that  is  ''  hid  with  Christ  in  God."  This  unity 
is  like  the  one  wide-starred  heaven,  above  the 
clouds  and  storms  of  earth.  Get  above  these  mun- 
dane elements,  and  what  do  we  see?  The  one 
vast  ether,  thick  studded  with  separate  star-worlds, 


3o8  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

looking  down,  in  the  blendings  of  one,  sweet,  noise- 
less, and  most  pure  brightness,  upon  our  dark 
state  ;  that  one,  shoreless,  upper  deep,  lying  calm, 
silent,  moveless,  unbroken,  above  the  earth,  its 
clouds  and  its  storms.  The  winds,  and  lightnings, 
and  thunders,  and  volcanic  fires,  and  earthquake 
throes,  which  appal  our  senses,  may,  at  times,  agi- 
tate the  airy  shallows  below  that  high,  blue  ether  ; 
but  they  have  no  power  to  roll  up  and  invade  that 
one  eternal  calm  of  heaven-light,  in  which  it  lies ! 
Great  emblem  of  the  Unity  of  Christ's  ''One  holy 
Catholic  Church  :"  ''  many  members  yet  but  One 
Body  ;"  many  lights  in  but  One  heaven  ;  a  realm  of 
life,  whose  clear  depths  penetrate  heavenward  unto 
Grod,  and  whose  earthward  aspect  can  never  be 
more  than  superficially  disturbed  by  the  mistakes, 
and  misunderstandings  and  consequent  unharmon- 
ies  of  true  Christian  brethren  ! 

This  Unity,  because  thus  spiritual,  is  not,  there- 
fore, unreal.  Every  true  believer  lives  in  it  daily, 
and  daily  enjoys  its  verity.  Ask  him  whether  the 
controversies,  agitations  and  schisms,  which  make 
earth  so  unquiet,  ever  break  or  touch  the  bond 
which  binds  him  to  Christ,  or  the  tie  which  ties 
him  to  any  known  brother  in  Christ  ?  And  he 
will  answer  :  "  Thank  Grod,  this  is  a  thing  which 
no  hand  can  reach  but  God's  hand,  and  which  His 
hand  never  reaches  but  to  strengthen  and  to  per- 


UNITY.  309 

feet.''  Wherever,  and  to  whomsoever,  among  the 
great  company  of  the  faithful,  that  question  is 
asked,  this  will  be  the  answer  ;  and  in  this  answer 
comes  a  living  demonstration  of  the  truth  that 
Christ's  great  prayer  went  up  to  be  ansvv^ered, 
has  been  answered,  and  shall  be  heard  and  an- 
swered ever  ;  "  that  they  all  may  be  one,  as  Thou, 
Father,  art  in  me  and  I  in  Thee,  that  they  also 
may  be  one  in  us." 

Upon  this  Unity,  however,  after  what  has  already 
been  said  of  that  Holy  Church,  in  which  it  resides, 
it  is  not  my  purpose  to  dwell.  The  difficulty  of 
this  part  of  the  subject  lies  elsewhere,  as  we  shall 
see  when  I  come  to  illustrate  the  second  re- 
mark. 

2.  Unity,  then,  belongs  to  even  the  visible 
Church.  This  unity,  however,  bears  but  an  an- 
alogy with  that  of  which  I  have  just  spoken.  That 
it  exists  we  may  firmly  hold.  Christ's  prayer  has 
been  answered  to  even  His  visible  Church.  This 
Church,  too.  though  it  consist,  emphatically,  of 
"  many  members,"  is  "  yet  but  One  Body."  To 
see  the  truth  of  this,  it  becomes  necessary  to  ex- 
plain in  what  this  visible  unity  does  not  consist, 
and  then  to  state  in  what  it  does  consist. 

I.  In  what  the  Unity  of  the  visible  Church  does 
not  consist. 


310  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

(1.)  It  does  not  consist,  and  was  never  designed 
to  consist,  in  the  subjection  of  all  the  parts,  or 
members,  to  one  temporal  head. 

The  Romanist's  plea  for  unity,  here  denied,  is 
but  one  great,  baseless  assumption.  Even  if  the 
fiction  of  St.  Peter's  primacj^  in  the  college  of  the 
Apostles  could  be  converted  into  a  fact,  it  would 
make  nothing  towards  the  conclusion  that  the  unity 
of  the  visible  Church  comes  out  in  acknowledging 
him,  or  any  other  human  being,  as  temporal  head 
of  that  Church.  This  Church  is  a  Body,  and  as  a 
Body  it  has  but  one  head,  in  heaven  or  on  earth. 
It  is  not  a  two- Headed  Body,  with  one  Head  in 
Heaven  and  the  other  on  earth.  The  Apostles 
have  eminence  among  the  members  of  the  Body ; 
but  they  are  themselves  in  the  Church,  only  be- 
cause they  are  members,  ''  set  in  the  Bod}^"  and, 
with  all  the  other  members,  similarly  ''set,"  con- 
stitute one  whole,  united  to  its  one  Head,  which 
Head  is  Christ.  If,  therefore,  there  were  such  a 
thing  as  a  primate  among  the  Apostles,  this  would 
not  constitute  him  temporal  head  of  the  Church, 
but  onty  chief  of  the  Apostles.  Nor  would  it  make 
the  unity  of  the  Church  to  consist  in  being  united 
to  him  ;  for  the  members  of  the  Body  Ecclesias- 
tical are  no  more  united  to  the  Apostolic  eye  than 
they  are  to  the  plebeian  foot.  Its  unity  consists  in 
this,  that  it  is,  in  all  its  members,  one  Body,  under 


UNITY.  311 

one  Head,  Christ.  The  first  Christians,  indeed, 
*'  continued  in  the  Apostles'  doctrine  and  fellow- 
ship," and  so  must  all  Christians.  To  reject  the 
Apostles'  "  doctrine  "  is  to  reject  the  whole  Gospel, 
and  to  renounce  their  "  fellowship  "  is  to  renounce 
"  the  communion  of  saints  ;"  and  he  who  does 
either  the  one  or  the  other  of  these  is  no  Christian, 
and  therefore  not  in  the  Church.  But  we  may 
"continue  in  the  Apostles'  doctrine,"  and  in  their 
"fellowship,"  too,  without  acknowledging  any  one 
of  them,  or  any  alleged  successor  of  that  one,  as 
temporal  head  of  the  Church,  even  on  the  supposi- 
tion that  that  one  was  Primate  over  the  rest.  But 
there  was  no  such  Primate.  The  Apostles  were 
official  equals.  Whatever  may  have  been  their 
personal  inequalities,  officially  they  were  on  an 
equality.  The  theory,  therefore,  of  a  temporal 
head  of  the  Church  is  based  on  a  double  fallacy  ; 
and  the  Romanist's  idea  of  unity  is  a  double  fiction. 
Such  a  visible  unity  never  has  been  and  never  will 
be.  The  theory  on  which  it  is  based  is  irreconcilable 
with  fact  no  less  than  with  argument.  The  visible 
Church  never  has  acknowledged  one  temporal  head, 
and  it  never  will.  Nearly  two  thousand  years  of 
Christian  history  have  put  the  realization  of  the 
idea  among  impossibilities.  Once,  indeed,  such  an 
external  unity  came  near  being  realized  ;  but  the 
nearer  it  came,  the  more  corrupt  and  dead  grew 


312  TEE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

the  Church  ;  until,  at  length,  it  became  a  great 
kingdom  of  this  world,  whose  manifested  life  was 
but  intense  spiritual  death  !  Could  such  a  unity  be 
ever  effected,  could  Rome's  dream  be  ever  made  a 
reality,  permanently  and  over  all  the  earth,  analogy 
suggests  the  fear  that  it  would  virtually  give  "  the 
god  of  this  w^orld  "  a  life-lease  of  its  kingdoms  in 
Christ's  name.  The  worst  evils  that  have  ever 
fallen  on  the  temporal  state  of  the  Church,  have 
resulted  from  Rome's  attempts  to  force  an  external 
unity  in  the  form  of  an  universal  submission  to  her 
one  temporal  head.  Blood  and  fire  and  earth-em- 
broiling contests  have  certified  to  the  ages  that  the 
Church  was  not  made  for  such  submission.  Even 
Christianized  humanity,  as  the  best  visible  hand  of 
God,  fights  against  such  a  unity,  and  hath  broken 
its  begun  fabric  in  pieces,  like  a  potter's  vessel, 
whereof  the  sherds  cannot  be  pat  together. 

(2.)  The  Unity  of  the  visible  Church  does  not 
consist  in  subjection  to  one  universal  form  of  Church 
government  and  ecclesiastical  law  as  administered 
by  men. 

The  onlj^  supreme  government  in  the  Church  is 
Christ's,  and  the  only  supreme  law  is  His  Word. 
All  other  government  and  law  are  not  of  the 
Church's  being,  but  only  of  her  greater  or  less 
well-being.  They  may,  therefore,  be  modified  or 
changed,  without  touching  the  essential  unity  of 


UNITY,  3,3 

the  Church.  As  a  nation  may  have  different  forms 
of  government  in  different  ages,  or  different  forms 
at  the  same  time  over  its  different  parts,  and  yet 
be  all  the  while  one  nation,  by  the  acknowledg- 
ment, in  all  its  parts,  of  one  supreme  authority  ; 
so  also  is  it  in  the  Church.  The  central  and 
supreme  authority  of  Christ  and  His  Word  pre- 
serves its  unity,  notwithstanding  the  diversity  in 
the  forms  of  subordinate  government  which  pre- 
vail. Change  of  government  may  amount  to  revolu- 
tion, and  revolution  may  be  fraught  with  great 
evils  ;  but  they  destroy  not  the  Body,  Avhether 
secular  or  religious,  civil  or  ecclesiastical,  in  which 
they  occur.  It  remains  true,  therefore,  that  what 
constitutes  the  Church  one,  what  makes  its  unity, 
is  not  a  universal  submission  to  one  form  of  eccle- 
siastical government  and  law. 

(3.)  The  unity  of  the  visible  Church  does  not 
consist  in  universal  submission  to  one  form  of  the 
Christian  ministry. 

The  ministry  itself,  as  we  have  seen,  is  not  of 
the  essence,  but  only  of  the  fullness  and  order  of 
the  Church  ;  even  as  the  eye,  the  ear,  and  the 
hand  are  not  essential  to  the  being,  but  only  to  the 
completeness  and  perfectuess  of  the  human  body. 
The  universal  prevalence,  therefore,  of  one  form 
of  the  ministry  cannot  be  that  in  which  the  unity 
of  the  visible  Church  consists.     It  cannot  be  that 


314  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

which  coustitutes  this  Church  ''One  Body."  It 
may  be  requisite,  or  desirable,  to  the  harmony  and 
the  best  welfare  of  this  Body  ;  to  that  state  in 
which  there  shall  be  ''no  schism  in  the  Body  ;  but 
not  to  the  existence  of  the  Body  itself.  The  Body 
may  reall}'  be  one,  though  in  a  yqvj  wounded  and 
a  very  weakened  state.  Rejection  of  what  we 
believe  to  have  been  the  Apostolic  model  of  the 
Christian  ministry  may  possibly  prove  the  severest 
wound  which  the  visible  body  of  Christ  can  receive 
compatibly  with  its  continuance  in  life  ;  and  yet, 
that  such  a  wound  may  be  received,  compatibly 
with  such  continuance,  we  see  by  what  many  re- 
gard as  sad,  melancholy  experience.  The  Protes- 
tant Reformation  on  the  continent  of  Europe,  one 
of  the  greatest  facts  in  the  history  of  the  Church 
since  the  Apostles'  days,  would  be  an  insoluble 
enigma  on  the  contrary  supposition.  By  what 
may  be  considered  an  unavoidable  necessity,  in 
the  order  of  God's  sovereign  Providence,  that 
Reformation  resulted,  among  other  things,  in  a 
local  loss  of  the  Episcopacy  from  the  ministry. 
To  say  that  God  was  concerned,  not  merely  in 
permitting,  but  in  producing  that  Reformation  ; 
that  He  produced  it  by  the  agencies  of  old  sent 
down  to  the  earth — His  Holy  Spirit  and  His  Holy 
Word  ;  and  that  He  did  it  to  give  a  new  era  to  the 
whole  Church  by  reviving  her  almost  extinct  spirit- 


UNITY.  315 

ual  life,  and  by  giving  action  to  causes  which  may 
and  doubtless  must  finally  throw  off  all  error  and 
all  superstition  from  the  heritage  of  Christ ;  to  say 
all  this  is  but  to  assert  what  is  as  plain  as  that  God 
had  an  agency  in  creating  the  worlds,  or  that  He 
still  has  an  agency  in  upholding  and  governing  the 
worlds.  That  Reformation  was  God's  own  work 
upon  His  own  Church,  and  with  His  own  instru- 
mentalities ;  as  much  His  own  work  as  was  the 
first  gathering  of  the  Church  ;  and  as  truly  with 
His  own  instrumentalities  as  when  He  wrought 
amid  primitive  "  signs  and  wonders."  And  yet, 
as  I  have  said,  that  Reformation  resulted,  among 
other  things,  in  a  local  loss  of  the  Episcopacy  from 
the  Christian  ministry  ;  and  it  may  result  in  the 
loss  of  some  portions  of  Protestantism  even  from 
the  visible  Church.  That  is,  some  portions  of 
Protestantism  may  yet  go  so  far,  if  they  have  not 
already  gone  so  far,  as  to  reject  the  whole  ''doc- 
trine and  fellowship  "  both  of  the  Apostles  and  of 
Christ ;  and  thus  to  die  off  from  the  Church,  as  a 
branch  sometimes  dies  and  drops  from  the  tree  on 
which  it  grew.  But,  as  a  tree  may  still  live,  and 
even  grow  all  the  more  beautifully,  symmetri- 
cally and  luxuriantly,  after  the  dead  branch  has 
dropped  and  mouldered  in  the  soil  beneath  ;  so 
would  it  then  prove  with  the  live  trunk  and 
branches  of  the  great  Continental  Reform.     Non- 


3i6 


THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 


Episcopal  Protestantism  is  already  spreading  over 
the  wide  earth,  and  carrying  with  it  some  of  the 
best  life  and  activities  of  Christ,  His  Spirit  and 
His  Word  ;  it  is  part  of  the  one  visible  Church 
and  body  of  Christ ;  and  it  furnishes  a  living 
proof  that  the  Oneness,  the  Unity  of  this  Church 
cannot  consist  in  a  universal  subordination  of  all 
the  members  to  one  form  of  the  Christian  ministry. 
The  loss  of  Episcopacy  we  consider  a  great  loss  ; 
for  what  purpose  permitted  w^e  pretend  not  to 
divine  ;  but  to  say  that  it  has  cast  Non-Episcopal 
Protestantism  out  of  the  visible  Charch,  is  to  be  a 
bold  man  in  charging  God,  and  in  overstepping  our 
own  highest  standards. 

IT.  In  what  the  unity  of  the  visible  Church  does 
consist. 

Having  thus  seen  in  what  the  Unity  of  the  visi- 
ble Church  docs  not  consist,  we  are  now  ready  for 
the  question,  in  what,  then,  does  this  Unity  consist? 
And  to  this  question  I  reply  : 

The  Unity  of  the  visible  Church  consists  in  its 
PROFESSED  subjection  to  Christ,  the  One  Divine 
Head  of  this  Church.  It  is  thus  the  one  universal 
body,  or  company,  of  Christ's  professed  followers 
in  all  the  earth.  The  unity  of  the  visible  Church 
lies  in  the  outward  profession  and  maintenance, 
everv  where,  of  that  which  really  constitutes  the 


UNITY. 


unity  of  the  true,  spiritual  and  Iioly  Church  Cath- 
olic.    The  unity  of  this  spiritual  Church  lies,  as 
we  have  seen,  in  truly  having  ''one   Lord,  one 
faith,  one   baptism:"  "one  Lord,"  Christ  Jesus, 
the  living  Head  ;  "one  faith,"  the  whole  revealed 
word,  believed  with  the  heart,  the  vital  bond  which 
unites  every  believer  with  that  Head;  and  "one 
BAPTISM,"  the   baptism    of  the   Holy   Ghost,  that 
which  puts  the  breathing  of  a  divine  life  into  the 
whole  body  so  constituted  and  so   united.      The 
unity  of  the  true  spiritual  Church  lies  in  really 
having  these  divine  things.     The  unity  of  the  visi- 
ble   Church   lies    in    outwardly   professing   these 
things,  though,  in  reality,  not  all  the  members  have 
them.     The  visible  Church  is  one  body,  because  it 
every  where  professes  the  "one  Lord,  one  faith, 
and  one  baptism,"  without  which  there  is  no  Church, 
either  spiritual  or  visible.     Whoever,  as  an  indi- 
vidual, or  as  an  organized  community,  utterly  casts 
off  this  "one  Lord,  one  faith,  and  one  baptism,"  is 
in  HERESY  ;  and  thereby  is  cut  off  from  even  the 
visible  Church :  and  whoever,  as  an  individual,  or 
as  an  organized  community,  professes  this   "one 
Lord,  one  faith,  and  one  baptism,"  is  thereby  in- 
corporated into  this  Church,  and  thus  makes  a  part 
of  the  ONE  visible  body  of  Christ.     The  spiritual 
Church  really  has  and  enjoj^s  these  things,  and  is 
thereby  one.     The  visible  Church  outwardly  pro- 


31?  THE  LIVING  TE3TPLE. 

Tesses  the  siirae  things,  and  is  there] )y  one,  though 
some  of  its  members  neither  enjoy  nor  have  the 
reality  which  they  profess.  The  Unity  of  each  has 
reference  to  the  same  elementary,  constituent  prin- 
ciples, v/ithout  which  there  can  be  no  Church,  spir- 
itual or  visible.  The  Unity  of  the  one  is  divine, 
and  perfect.  The  Unity  of  the  other  is  analogical 
and  imperfect. 

With  this  conception,  then,  of  the  oneness  of  the 
visible  Church,  it  is  obvious  that  many  things  may 
disturb,  and  even  deeply  wound,  its  harmony,  or 
union,  without  thereby  destroying  its  unity.  This 
is  the  difference  between  unity  and  union.  "The 
unity  and  entity  of  the  Church,"  says  Bishop  Hall, 
"  can  no  more  be  divided  than  itself'  To  destroy 
the  unity  of  the  body  would  be  to  destroy  the  body 
itself.  But  the  union  of  the  Church  may  be  broken. 
This  is  not  infrangible.  This  may  be  broken  with- 
out destro^ang  the  Church.  Unity  is  that  which 
makes  a  thing  one.  Unity  is  that  which  makes 
several  parts  agree  in  one.  Union  is  the  harmony 
of  parts.  In  the  visible  Church,  therefore,  it  is  easy 
to  see  how  this  union,  or  harmon}^,  may  be  broken 
w^ithout  thereby  destroying  that  Church's  unity,  or 
oneness.  By  schism  it  has  been  broken,  sadly 
broken,  until  this  Church  has  become  like  a  family, 
agitated  by  intestine  broils.  But  its  unity  remains. 
It  is  still  the  one,  great,  visible  family  of  Christ 


UmTY.  319 

scattered  over  the  earth  :  and,  what  is  more,  its 
union  also — its  broken  harmony  may  yet  be  re- 
stored. Perhaps,  when  we  consider  the  passions 
and  interests  of  men,  and  the  mixture  of  all  things 
human  in  this  visible  Church,  the  wonder  ought  to 
be  that  its  discords  have  not  been  greater,  rather 
than  that  they  have  been  so  great. 

And  now^,  let  us  gather  up  a  few  things  from  that 
part  of  the  subject  which  we  have  just  been  discus- 
sing, and  from  the  subject  at  large. 

(1.)  The  view  which  has  been  taken  throws  light 
on  the  question  of  returning  to  the  unity  of  the 
Church  ;  or,  as  the  question  should  be  stated,  about 
returning  to  the  union,  the  harmony,  of  the  Church. 

Christians  are  not  to  return  to  visible  unity— or 
rather,  let  us  discard  the  term,  once  for  all,  and 
say  they  are  not  to  return  to  visible  Union,  under 
one  temporal  head.  There  is  not  and  never  has 
been  such  a  union ;  not  even  in  Apostolic  days. 
Nor  are  they  necessarily  to  return  to  visible  union 
under  one  form  of  ecclesiastical  government  and 
law.  Such  subordination  is  not  essential  to  the 
oneness  of  the  body  ;  and,  considering  the  diversi- 
ties of  human  character,  social  condition,  and  polit- 
ical institutions,  in  various  parts  of  the  w^orld,  and 
under  various  influences  of  education,  we  may 
doubtless  say,  with  safety,  that  such  a  subordi- 
nation is  not  desirable  to  the  best  welfare  of  the 


CJ20  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

Church.  Nor,  however  fervently  we,  as  Episcopa- 
lians, may  pray  for  it,  are  they  necessarily  to  re- 
turn to  visible  union  under  one  form  of  the  Chris- 
tian ministry.  In  the  good  Providence  of  Grod, 
this  subordination  may,  or  may  not  be  restored. 
At  any  rate,  this  subordination  is  not  likely  to  be 
hastened  by  continuing  to  insist  that  Non-Episcopal 
organizations  do  not  belong  to  the  visible  Church. 
If  any  thing  can  retard  and  finally  defeat  the  uni- 
versal readoption  of  an  Episcopal  ministry,  it  is 
likely  to  be  a  passionate  persistence  in  such  a 
transparent  untruth.  As  men,  and  even  Christian 
men,  are  constituted,  they  are  not  strongly  at- 
tracted towards  that  which  perseveringly  seeks  to 
fortify  itself  behind  a  loveless  unreality. 

To  what,  then,  are  Christians  to  return  ?  If  not 
to  union  under  one  temporal  head,  nor  to  union 
under  one  form  of  Church  government  and  law, 
nor,  necessarily,  to  union  under  even  one  form  of 
the  Christian  ministry,  then,  to  what  must  they 
return?  I  reply,  in  the  idea  of  our  "prayer  for 
all  conditions  of  men,''  they  must  return  to  the 
"Unity  of  the  Spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace.''  This  is 
the  union  which  has  been  violated.  This  is  the 
union  which  must  be  restored.  It  is  necessary  to 
the  welfare  of  the  Church.  Without  it,  piety  will 
remain  stinted,  and  never  grow  to  half  its  proper 
stature.    Without  it,  prayer  will  continue  weak  and 


UNITY.  321 

never  grasp  half  the  divine  promises.  Without  it, 
the  Church  itself  will  live  on,  a  dwarf,  and  never 
compass  half  its  destined  heritage.  The  world,  in 
its  wants,  calls  for  this  return  to  union.  The 
Church,  in  her  distractions,  calls  for  it.  And  God, 
in  His  Word,  calls  for  it.  Aye !  And  the  three 
shall  yet  have  what  they  ask.  The  gracious  power 
of  God,  by  His  Spirit,  shall  give  it  to  the  world,  to 
the  Church,  to  Himself  The  old  world's  jeers  at 
the  visible  Church's  broils  are  beginning  to  make 
Christians  sick  with  sadness  ;  and  Jesus  inspires 
the  faith  that  the  healing  of  this  sickness  will  come 
in  the  restoration  of  that  sweet  harmony-,  the  viola- 
tion of  which  is  so  painfully  felt. 

The  questions,  What  is  the  Church  ?  Where  is 
it  ?  How  may  I  find  it  ?  are  often  suffered  needless- 
ly to  disturb  the  tender  conscience.  These  ques- 
tions are  often  artfully  pressed,  as  though  there 
were  a  thousand  rival  claimants  to  the  character  of 
the  Church,  to  one  only  of  which  it  rightfully  be- 
longs ;  and  as  though,  amid  their  conflicting  claims, 
each  individual  Christian  must  decide,  or  allow 
others  to  decide  for  him,  which  among  them  all  is 
the  true  Church,  the  only  Church,  the  Church  in 
which  alone  salvation  is  to  be  found.  But  this,  as 
we  have  viewed  the  subject,  is  an  utterly  false  po- 
sition. No  soul,  thank  God,  has  such  an  awful 
question  as  this  to  answer.  The  comparative 
21 


322  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

claims  to  consideration  of  different  Christian  de- 
nominations are  far  from  being  unimportant ;  but 
they  can  never  grow  to  such  a  tremendous  weight 
as  this  !  It  is  a  weight,  which,  were  it  fully  felt, 
would  press  unnumbered  souls  into  despair,  or  into 
a  reckless  embrace  of  the  most  ruinous  errors.  The 
simple,  but  all-sufficient  direction,  for  every  one,  is 
this  :  find  the  Bible  ;  find  your  own  sins  ;  find 
Christ ;  find  the  Holy  Spirit )  find  the  baptism  of 
the  heart  into  the  life  "hid  with  Christ  in  God  ;" 
and  then,  confessing  your  Saviour  before  men  in 
the  accessible  way  of  His  appointment,  you  have 
found  His  Church.  His  Church  covers  all  Chris- 
tians. You  find  that  Church  in  finding  Christ  by  a 
faith  which  ''  works  by  love,"  "  purifies  the  heart," 
and  "  overcomes  the  world."  For  necessitj^  of  sal- 
vation, you  need  look  no  further. 

(2.)  The  question,  however, — what  is  the  true 
Apostolic  ministry  of  the  Church  ?  is  one  of  a  differ- 
ent order.  We  believe  this  ministry  to  have  been 
Episcopal.  Ignorance,  unintentional  mistake,  edu- 
cation, unavoidable  Providences,  may  render  others 
blameless  in  living  without  sucli  ministry  ;  but 
nothing  would  make  us  blameless  in  renouncing  it, 
so  long  as  this  ministry  itself,  neither  renounces 
Christ  and  His  Gospel,  nor  imposes  on  our  con- 
sciences terms  of  communion  which  are  clearly 
nn scriptural.     If  this  ministry  should  ever  assume 


UNITY.  323 

either  of  these  positions,  the  duty  of  submission  to  it 
would  be  lost  in  the  higher  duty  of  loyalty  to  Christ 
and  His  Truth.  It  is  on  this  ground  that  our  best 
writers  have  ever  justified  the  separation  of  the 
European  Continental  Protestants  from  the  Church 
of  Rome,  even  though,  in  that  separation,  they 
were  unable  to  carry  with  them  a  scriptural  Epis- 
copacy. The  ministry  was  ' '  set  in  the  body  "  for  its 
health  and  welfare.  Subserving  these,  it  must  be 
held.  Subverting  these  it  must  be  renounced ; 
though  it  be  Episcopal  in  form  ;  for  the  body,  with 
Christ  its  Head,  is  more  than  any  member  thereof, 
however  eminent  in  place.  If  even  the  eye  offend 
incurably,  it  must  be  plucked  out. 

(3.)  The  view  which  has  been  taken  teaches 
another  thing.  While  it  is  our  duty  as  Protestants, 
to  mourn  over  the  evils  which  rend  the  harmony 
of  the  outer  Church,  and  to  seek  to  enter  livingly  in- 
to the  sorrows,  with  which  these  evils  inspire  the 
heart  of  Christ ;  it  is  also  our  privilege  as  Chris- 
tians, to  rejoice  in  the  true  and  holy  unit}',  which 
pervades  and  binds  all  Christ's  living  members  in 
His  one  spiritual  Church  Catholic  ;  to  cultivate, 
moreover,  that  '•  unity  of  Spirit  in  the  bond  of 
peace,''  which  should  pervade  and  unite  even  His 
outer  Church  ;  and  to  live,  labor  and  sacrifice,  each 
in  his  proper  sphere,  to  spread  the  pure  Gospel, 
the  knowledge  of  the  true  Saviour,  over  all  the 


324  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE, 

world.  In  this  way,  we  shall  do  our  best  in  bring- 
ing again  the  full  mind  of  Christ  upon  all  his  fol- 
lowers ;  till,  as  the  light  of  the  sun  cometh  down 
and  maketh  a  shining  garment  for  the  earth,  so 
that  mind,  descending,  shall  enrobe  His  Church 
and  make  even  her  outer  vestments  glorious.  Al- 
ready "  is  the  King's  daughter  all-glorious  within  ; 
and  it  is  a  cheering  thought  that  we  may  aid  in 
bringing  forward  the  time,  when  her  very  ''cloth- 
ing shall  be  wrought  gold  ;''  shining  in  the  sweet 
harmonies  of  peace  and  love  and  truth. 

(4.)  Finally  ;  all  that  has  been  said  from  begin- 
ning to  end  of  this  whole  subject,  comes  to  this  one 
point,  as  an  enduring  lesson  to  every  single  soul ; 
the  Church,  in  her  best  estate,  can  save  no  man. 
If  any  man  be  ever  saved,  he  will,  it  is  true,  be 
saved  in  the  Church,  and  by  the  instrumentalities, 
which  Christ  hath  put  into  her  hands  for  use.  Still, 
the  Church  does  not,  cannot  save  him.  He  is 
saved,  and  he  must  be  saved,  for  himself  individu- 
ally, by  Christ,  His  Spirit  and  His  Truth  ;  with  as 
much  of  personal  responsibility  and  watchfulness 
and  care,  as  if  he  were  alone  in  the  world,  with 
nothing  but  Christ  His  Spirit  and  His  Truth  be- 
sides him.  One  of  the  grand  heresies,  which  the 
present  day  has,  at  times,  seemed  intent  on  bring- 
ing back  upon  Protestantism,  is,  that,  somewhere 
in  the  abstract  being  of  the  Church,  there  is  laid 


UmTT.  325 

up  a  deposit  of  spiritual  life  and  grace,  whicli  she 
has  power,  of  her  own  will,  or  by  her  own  activity, 
to  dispense  ;  and  that  to  be  a  member  of  the 
Church  is,  somehow,  wittingly  or  unwittingly,  to 
become  a  sharer  in  her  rich  treasure.  It  is  a  fatal- 
ly perilous  delusion.  The  Church  has  just  so  much 
spiritual  life  and  grace  in  her,  and  no  more,  as  her 
members,  each  for  himself  alone,  draw  from  Christ, 
the  Living  Fountain,  through  the  channels,  which 
Christ  has  opened,  or  wliich  He  keeps  still  hidden 
with  Himself.  The  spiritual  life  and  grace  of  i\\Q 
Church  can  never  be  greater,  or  other,  than  the 
simple  aggregate  of  what  each  member  thus  brings 
into  it  from  the  Fountain-head  of  all.  Happy 
would  it  be,  if  every  man  would  remember  this 
truth  ;  if  he  would  carry  it  with  him  everywhere, 
sleep  under  it,  wake  with  it,  live  in  it.  The 
Church  cannot  save  us.  Jesus  Christ  must  save 
us.  Thousands,  it  must  be  feared,  of  the  members 
of  the  visible  Church  have  perished.  We  shall 
perish,  if  we  never  attain  to  more  than  reputable 
membership  in  this  Church. 

And  now,  in  dismissing  the  whole  subject  of  the 
comprehension  of  the  Church,  a  word,  personal  to 
the  Writer,  may  perhaps  be  permitted. 

He  is  not,  then,  indifferent  to  what  may  be  said, 
whether  of  himself,  or  of  wdiat  he  has  essayed  to 
teach.     Yet,  has  he  not  been  governed  herein  by 


326  '  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

any  reference  to  such  notices.  He  his  spoken  be- 
cause he  felt  it  his  duty  to  exhibit  what  he  believes 
to  be,  at  all  times,  and  especially  at  this  present, 
very  important  truths.  Those,  to  whom,  in  the 
course  of  a  ministry  not  short,  it  has  been  his 
privilege  m  divers  places  to  preach  the  Gospel, 
will  bear  him  witness  that  it  has  not  been  his  habit 
to  dwell  with  much  frequency  on  the  special  sub- 
ject of  the  Church.  Ordinaril}^,  "  Christ  and  Him 
crucified  "  has  been  and  must  ever  be,  so  long  as  a 
ministry  on  earth  is  allowed  him,  his  main  theme. 
The  present,  however,  are  no  ordinary  times.  Our 
Church,  both  in  our  own,  and  in  our  mother  Coun- 
try, has  had,  and,  it  must  be  feared,  still  has,  in 
her  fold,  those  who  are  openly  or  covertly  seeking 
to  put  out  the  light  of  her  Protestantism.  Under 
such  circumstances,  every  minister,  within  her  pale, 
is  bound,  in  some  way,  to  speak  out  honestly  and 
fully,  and  to  let  his  fellow  Churchmen  know  where 
he  stands,  and  towards  what  he  is  driving.  If  they 
are  to  be  led  away  from  the  Protestant  faith  of 
their  fathers,  it  is  no  more  than  right  that  they 
should  be  led  with  their  eyes  open  and  with  their 
own  consent.  Regardfully  of  these  obligations  of 
the  clergy  and  of  this  right  of  the  people,  the  Au- 
thor has  acted  in  what  he  has  now,  at  some  length, 
propounded.  To  his  Master  and  to  his  conscience 
he  could  not  feel  justified  in  withholding  what  he  has 


UNITY.  327 

spoken.  Those  who  have  been  or  may  be,  to  any 
extent,  under  his  influence,  if  not  the  Church  at 
large,  have  a  right  to  know  his  mind  on  this  sub- 
ject. The  grave  charges,  so  often  urged  against 
those  who  speak  as  ho  has  spoken,  may  perhaps, 
justify  him  in  the  egotism  of  saying  that  he  is,  by 
conviction  as  well  as  in  affection,  an  Episcopalian. 
He  was  born  and  nurtured  in  the  full  discipline  of 
the  American  Episcopal  Church.  He  loves  it,  and 
doubts  not  that  he  shall  love  it  until  death.  But 
he  humbly  hopes  that,  "  by  the  grace  of  Grod,"  he 
bears  a  still  higher  designation.  He,  at  least,  pro- 
fesses to  be  a  Christian  ;  and,  as  such,  he  can 
never  sink,  in  the  mere  Churchman,  the  regards 
which  he  owes  to  all  who  belong  to  the  Saviour  of 
us  all.  He  is  also,  a  Protestant  ;  and,  as  such,  he 
can  never  look,  without  feelings  of  unfeigned  regret 
upon  every  step,  which  our  Protestantism  may  take 
in  retracing  its  way,  even  though  it  should  be  an- 
consciously  towards  the  errors,  which  were  renoun- 
ced, before  heaven  and  earth,  on  the  morning  of 
the  great  Reformation.  He  wages  no  personal 
contest.  He  denies  to  no  man  the  right  of  forming 
and  of  spreading  his  own  jud]:ment3  on  the  points 
discussed.  He  stands  on  principle  ;  and  claiming  the 
same  rights,  which  he  allows,  on  his  own  principles 
he  must  stand  openly.  If  others  can  stand  with 
him  in  the  main,  he  will  rejoice  ;  but,  with  many 


328  THE  LlVma  TEMPLE, 

or  alone,  so  he  stands  ;  and,  with  his  best  praj^ers 
and  labors  for  this  our  Zion  upon  earth,  will  hope 
so  to  stand  till  called  to  share  the  glory  of  the  trae 
Zion  in  heaven. 

Oh  the  glory  of  that  upper  Church  !  To  all,  who 
are  named  of  Christ,  be  that  the  home  of  their 
highest,  holiest  love.  In  longings  for  it  let  all  live  ; 
and  to  the  language  of  one  of  its  sweet,  anticipative 
hymns,  let  all  train  the  daily  utterances  of  their 
hearts  : 

"  Mother  of  cities !  o'er  thy  head 
Bright  peace,  with  healing  wings  outspread, 

Foreyermore  shall  dwell ; 
Let  me,  blest  seat !  my  name  behold 
Among  thy  citizens  enrolled, 

And  bid  the  world  farewelL" 


CHAPTER  YI. 


THE   CHURCH   IN   HEAVEN. 


X  CLOSED  the  last  Chapter  with  an  allusion  to 
■^  the  Church  in  Heaven.  In  the  present,  I  pro- 
pose no  addition  to  the  arguments  with  which 
this  discussion  has  been  concerned.  In  bringing 
the  whole  to  its  iinal  close,  my  object  is,  so  far  as 
may  be,  to  give  a  holier  power  to  what  has  been 
said,  by  carrying  the  whole  subject  which  has  been 
discussed  up  to  that  future  and  finished  result, 
wherein  all  that  is  imperfect  in  the  Church  on 
earth  will  be  swallowed  up  forever  in  the  perfec- 
tions of  THE  Church  in  Heaven.  If,  in  what  has 
thus  far  been  said,  there  have  been  too  much  of  a 
taint  from  secular  and  earthly  influences,  it  will  be 
pleasant  to  the  Writer — and  he  hopes  it  will  be 
no  less  so  to  the  reader — to  close  the  series  with 
something  that  shall  serve  to  remind  both  of  the 
purities  of  a  better  world. 

We  are  taught  by  an  Apostle,  Heb.  9  :  23,  that 
there  were,  under  the  ancient  dispensation,  "pat- 
terns of  things  in  the  Heavens."     Some  of  these 

(329) 


330  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

''patterns"  are  enumerated  in  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews.  Thus,  the  sacrifices  and  sprinkling  of 
blood,  observed  by  the  Church  under  that  dispen- 
sation, were  "patterns''  of  the  one  great  offering 
and  of  the  true  "  blood  of  sprinkling,"  which  Christ, 
our  ''High  Priest  forever,"  is  continually  present- 
ing in  heaven,  lleb.  9  :  24.  Thus,  too,  the  most 
holy  place  in  the  temple  of  the  ancient  Church  was 
a  "  pattern"  of  the  "true"  Holy  of  Holies  in  heaven 
into  which  Christ  hath  entered  with  that  one  per- 
fect offering  of  Himself.  Heb.  9  :  8,  12.  In  heaven 
there  is  continual  Worship,  as  we  learn  from  the 
visions  of  him  who  spake  in  the  Apocalypse.  The 
elders,  who  "worship  Him  that  liveth  forever  and 
ever" — "rest  not  day  and  night,  saying:  Holy, 
holy,  holy.  Lord  God  Almighty  ;  which  was,  and  is, 
and  is  to  come."  Rev.  4:10;  8.  Worship  on 
earth  is  one  of  the  acts  in  which  the  Church  mani- 
fests her  life.  This  worship  on  high,  therefore, 
implies  the  existence  of  a  Church  in  heaven.  More- 
over, he  who  had  the  visions  of  the  Apocalypse 
saw  in  heaven  "  the  beide,  the  Lamb's  wife  ;"  Rev. 
21  :  9  ;  one  of  the  mystic  symbols  of  the  Church  in 
her  divine  Union  with  Christ  her  Head  ;  while  the 
Apostle  speaks  of  "The  General  Assembly  and 
Church  of  the  first-born,  which  are  written  in 
heaven,"  as  one  of  the  glorious  things  to  which,  in 
the  anticipations  of  a  faith,  clothed  with  something 


THE  CHURCH  IX  HE  A  VEK  3  3 1 

of  the  ubiquity  of  its  Ghostly  giver,  the  true  follow- 
ers of  Christ  are  represented  as  ''  coming"  even 
while  yet  lingering  within  the  dark  confines  of  the 
flesh. 

There  is,  then,  a  Chuech    in  Heaven.      It  is 
"The  General  Assembly of  the  first- 
born."   To  this  Church,  indeed,  Christians  "come" 
even  while  on  earth,  with  something  more  present 
than  the  anticipations  of  faith.     They  come  to  this 
Church  on  earth,  because  a  part  of  it  is  still  here. 
And  yet,  the  language  of  the  Apostle  is  most  hap- 
pily descriptive  of,  and  was  doubtless  intended,  in 
its  full  sense,  to  describe,  that  part  of  this  Church 
which  is  already  in  heaven  ;  and  it  is  only  when 
the  whole  shall  have  been  gathered  up  and  glori- 
fied, in  that  perfect  upper  world,  that  our  coming 
to  it  will  be  finally  and  fully  realized.     So  again, 
•'  Christ  loved  the  Church,  and  gave  Himself  for  it 
that  He  might present  it  to  Himself  a  glo- 
rious Church,  not  having  spot,  or  wrinkle,  or  any 
such  thing  ;  but  that  it.  should  be  holy  and  without 
blemish."     The  Church,  it  is  true,  is  presented  to 
Christ  on  earth  ;  and  it  is,  even  here,  "a  glorious 
Church  ;"  still,  not  yet  "  without  spot,  or  wrinkle," 
—not  yet  "holy  and  without  blemish."    This  state 
of  the  Church,  and  this  presentation  of  the  Church 
will  never  be  literally  and  fully  realized,  until  the 
whole  shall  have  been  gathered  up  into  heaven, 


332  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

and  the  marriage  of  '*  the  bride,  the  Lamb's  wife" 
shall  be  celebrated  in  solemn  state,  and  with  heav- 
enly pomp,  before  the  throne  of  Grod. 

I  repeat,  then,  there  is  a  Church  m  Heaven. 
Heaven  itself,  considered  as  a  state  of  being  and 
relations,  and  as  made  up  of  those  who  fill  that 
state,  is  a  Church.  In  that  Church,  Jesus  Himself 
is  the  great  Bishop,  and  "shepherd  of  souls."  Its 
MEMBERS  are  ''  the  first-born," — the  choice  ones  of 
God, — the  first  and  best  fruits  of  His  creatures. 
Its  BAPTISM  is  the  full  affusion  of  "  the  Holy  Ghost 
and  of  fire," — the  spirit  of  glowing,  heavenly  love 
poured  abundantly  upon  all  hearts.  The  "names" 
of  its  baptized  "are  written  in  heaven,"  on  the 
registry  of  life.  And  its  high  sacrament,  its  eter- 
nal EUCHARIST,  is  a  feast  on  more  than  "Angels' 
food" — the  manna  of  immortality  ;  a  feast — not  on 
the  PLEDGES  but — on  the  possession  of  that,  as  yet 
deep  mystery — life  everlasting  in  Christ  our 
Head. 

If,  then,  there  be  a  Church  in  Heaven,  it  much 
behoves  us  to  become  familiar  with  its  character- 
istics and  partakers  of  its  spirit.  For,  by  so  doing, 
blessings  from  the  inner — upper — sanctuary  shall 
be  won  and  shed  down  most  abundantly,  both  upon 
ourselves  and  upon  our  fellow  members  in  this 
outer,  lower  congregation — "  the  Church  in  the  wil- 
derness" of  time. 


THE  CHURCH  m  HE  A  VEK  3  3  3 

To  promote,  then,  this  desired  familiarity  with 
things  so  sacred,  so  divine,  let  us  proceed  to  enu- 
merate, so  far  as  we  may  be  able  to  learn  them, 
the  CHAEACTERiSTics  of  the  Church  in  Heaven. 

1.  It  is  characterized  by  Union. 

I  say  union,  rather  than  unity,  oecause  of  the 
two,  UNION  is  the  higher  and  more  perfect  state. 
There  is  unity  in  the  senseless  rock.  There  is 
union  only  between  parts  capable  of  agreement 
and  disagreement.  There  may  be  unity  where 
union  does  not,  as  a  greater,  include  unity  as  a  less. 
This  is  illustrated  in  the  Church.  Here,  there  may 
be  unity,  while  union  is  broken  ;  but  there  can  be 
no  UNION  which  does  not  include  and  presuppose 
unity.  In  the  Church  perfect  union  is  unity  ex- 
alted, GLORIFIED.  In  the  Church,  perfect  union  is 
the  intelligent,  voluntary  agreement  and  fitting  of 
parts,  once  capable  of  deliberate  sinful  disagree- 
ment and  discord,  but,  at  last,  reconciled  into  a 
deliberate,  holy  harmony  for  eternity. 

On  earth,  the  uniting  principle  acts  feebly  and 
inconstantly  between  the  parts  of  the  Church.  In 
heaven,  it  operates  powerfully  and  constantly  ;  so 
that  the  very  basis  of  the  Church  in  glory  is — 
UNION — a  perfectly  harmonious  condition  of  the  in- 
numerable parts  and  members  of  the  glorified  body. 
There  are  no  schisms  in  the  Celestial  Church.  The 
members  of  Christ,  there,  look  not  at  one  another 


334  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

with  the  sickly  eye  of  prejudice,  till  brother  learns 
to  hate  his  brother.  They  call  not  one  another  by 
odious  names  there,  till  at  length  the  very  sound 
of  some  two-edged  epithet,  wounding  the  heart 
both  of  him  who  utters  and  of  him  who  receives  it, 
stirs  to  action  most  unholy  tempers.  There  are  no 
rival  SECTS  in  heaven,  each  striving  to  build  its 
own  and  to  pull  down  the  other's  house.  In  that 
upper  Church,  are  no  dividing  walls,  so  high  as 
to  hinder  Christians  from  seeing  each  other,  and 
so  thick  as  to  keep  them  from  talking  with  each 
other.  Nor  are  there  any  separate  streams  of 
CHARITY  there,  kept  by  artificial  dikes  from  flowing 
into  one  common  channel ;  but  love,  mighty  love, 
melts  down  all  barriers,  leaves  heart  open  to  heart, 
and  sends  the  mingling  tide  around,  till,  in  one 
vast  charity,  the  harmony  becomes  divine.  Or,  to 
take  a  similitude  from  the  Bible,  love,  there,  is  the 
true  ''bond  of  perfectness  ;"  it  is  a  bond  never 
broken  ;  it  leaves  not  a  soul  out  of  its  sacred  zone  ; 
and  it  holds  all  in  blest,  eternal  union.  In  the 
upper  Church  is  presented  the  literal  fullness  of 
that  for  which  the  Saviour  prayed:  "That  they 
all  may  be  one  ;  as  Thou,  Father,  art  in  me  and 
I  in  Thee,  that  they  also  may  be  one  in  us."  "And 
the  glory,  which  Thou  gavest  me,  I  have  given 
them  5  that  they  may  be  one  even  as  we  are  one  : 
I  in  them  and  Thou  in  me  ;  that  they  may  be  made 


THE  CHURCH  IN  HE  A  VEK  335 

PERFECT  in  one."  This  union  is  the  perfection  of 
the  heavenly  organization,  as  love  is  the  perfection 
of  the  heavenly  individual. 

2.  The  Church   in  Heaven  is  characterized  by 

PURITY. 

I  use  this  term  now,  not  as  synonymous  with 
holiness  in  the  children  of  God  ;  but  as  opposed  to 
mixture  among  them  of  such  as  belong  not  to  them. 
Pure  wheat  is  the  grain,  without  any  mixture  of 
tares.     Heaven  is  a  pure  Church  because  it  con- 
tains no  false  members  ;  no  hypocrites,  or  inten- 
tional deceivers  of  others  ;  and  no  formalists,  or 
careless  deceivers  of  themselves.    All  who  are  ad- 
mitted to  membership  there  are  admitted  under  the 
inspection  of  the  All-seeing  Eye  ;  an  Eye  that  looks 
through  all  outward  forms  into  all  secret  motives. 
Membership  there  is  a  vital  reality.     About  that 
Yine  there  are  no  dead  branches,  whose  only  claim 
to  be  called  branches  lies  in  the  fact,  that  they  are 
found  within  the  enclosure  of  the  Church  Vineyard. 
All  there  are  living  branches,  grafted  into  Christ, 
"the  true  Yine,"  and  growing  out  of  Him  as  the 
real  "Tree  of  Life."     In  heaven  are  no  "tares" 
among  the  "  wheat ;"  for  no  enemy  finds  the  divine 
Husbandman  asleep  while  he  essays  to  sow  them. 
"The  Net,"  which  is  "let  down"  from  heaven  into 
the  broad  sea  of  time,  gathers  not  good  and  bad, 
but  good  onlV;  on  the  eternal  shores.     In  heaven 


33^ 


THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 


it  is  never  said  of  professing  Christians,  "They 
went  out  from  us  because  they  were  not  of  us  f  for 
all  there  are  regenerate  in  heart  as  well  as  in  out- 
ward relation  ;  all  are  baptized  with  the  Spirit  as 
well  as  with  water  ;  and  all,  not  only  sit  down  at 
His  table,  but  also  feast  on  life  with  the  Living 
Saviour. 

It  is  impossible  fully  to  comprehend  the  difference 
between  the  Church  in  its  best  estate  on  earth, 
and  the  Church  in  this  state  of  purity  in  heaven. 
Here,  fellowship  is,  at  the  best,  but  a  feebly-burn- 
ing fire ;  often  it  is  a  fire  virtually  extinguished 
under  the  cold  reflection  that  all  are  not  what  they 
profess  or  appear  to  be.  Each  true  Christian 
knows  not  who,  besides  himself,  is  certainly  true  ; 
and  sometimes  he  is  afraid  that  even  himself  may 
be  deceived.  Hence,  what  fears  and  tremblings, 
what  doubts  and  distrusts,  what  damps  and  chills 
creep  in  and  trouble  Christian  fellowship  on  earth  ! 
Blessed  indeed  this  fellowship  often  is,  but  when 
most  blessed  it  is  full  of  experiences  not  half-born, 
and  has  but  here  and  there  something  that  seems 
like  an  experience  half  grown.  But  in  the  Heav- 
enly Church  how  different !  Oh,  the  clear  shining 
of  that  light  in  which  all  is  certainty  !  in  which  all 
are  known  to  be  what  they  profess  and  appear  to 
be  !  where  each  first  knows  himself  to  be  true,  and 
then  knows  all  others  to  be  true  ;  where  God's  seal 


THE  CHURCH  IN  HEA  YEN.  337 

is  upon  every  one,  certifying  that,  upon  unerring 
inspection,  every  one  has  been  found  genuine  ;  and 
where  thus,  certainty  shines  into  every  heart,  and 
out  from  every  heart ;  and  all  fear  is  gone,  and  all 
tremblings  are  still,  and  all  doubts  are  dispelled, 
and  all  distrusts  are  banished,  and  nothing  more  is 
left  to  damp  or  to  chill  the  fellowship  of  the  per- 
fect !  God's  Certainty  beaming  everywhere  ;  the 
certainty  that  I  am  what,  to  myself  and  to  others, 
I  appear  to  be  ;  and  that  all  others  are  what,  to 
me,  to  themselves  and  to  God,  they  profess  to  be  ! 
Since  the  first  sin  was  sinned,  earth  has  never 
known  what  such  a  fellowship  means.  In  heaven 
that  sweetest  of  mysteries  will  once  more  be 
opened. 

3.  The  Church  in  Heaven  is  characterized  by 

SANCTITY. 

All  the  members  of  that  Church  are  not  only 
set  apart  from  common  and  profane  uses,  but  also 
separated  from  every  form  and  degree  of  sin  ;  not 
only  consecrated  as  ''vessels  of  honor-'  but  also 
''  meet  for  the  Master's  use.''  They  have  no  longer 
anything  wrong  in  their  natures.  It  is  true  that 
they  feel  not  like  angels,  who  can  look  up  to  God 
in  the  silent  consciousness  that  they  have  never 
offended  Him.  Nevertheless,  they  feel,  as  even 
angels  cannot  feel,  like  redeemed  ones,  who  can 
look  up  to  their  Father  with  the  uttered  yet  unut- 
22 


338  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

terable  joy  that  He  has  delivered  them  from  all 
their  offenses,  and  made  them  once  more  and  for- 
ever perfect  in  His  sight.  They  hear  when  it  is 
said:  "These  are  they  which  came  out  of  great 
tribulation,  and  have  washed  their  robes  and  made 
them  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb."  These 
were  "  redeemed  from  among  men,  being  first- 
fruits  unto  Grod  and  the  Lamb.  In  their  mouth 
was  found  no  guile,  for  they  are  without  fault  be- 
fore the  throne  of  God."  To  use  the  Apostle's 
phrase,  "  In  the  body  of  His  flesh,  through  death," 
Christ  hath  finally  "  presented  "  them  to  the  Father 
"holy,  and  unblamable,  and  unreprovable  in  His 
sight." 

Here  is  another  marvel  of  difference  between 
the  Church  on  earth  at  its  best  estate,  and  the 
Church  in  Heaven  at  its  final  glory.  As  sinners 
here,  we  can  know  nothing  of  the  bliss  of  sinless- 
ness.  We  can  only  know  the  blessedness  of  pain, 
and  struggle,  and  chastening,  with  mingled  love, 
and  tenderness,  and  faithfulness  ;  giving  us  expe- 
rience of  alternate  defeat  and  victory,  and  of  deep 
solicitude  and  hopeful  watching  over  the  begin- 
nings and  the  progress  of  our  sanctification  ;  the 
whole  interspersed  with  here  and  there  a  glimpse, 
a  foretaste  of  something  like  the  coming  fullness  ; 
but,  of  absolute  sinlessness  and  perfection,  of  being 
"  holv,  unblamable   and   unreprovable.*'   even   in 


THE  GHUBGH  IN  HEA  VEK  339 

the  sight  of  God  ;  not  merely  unblamed,  but  ''  un- 
blamable," not  merely  unreproved,  but  ''  unre- 
provable  ;"  not  only  fit  for  use,  but  ''fit  for  the 
Master's  use  ;"  of  this  state  we  as  yet  know  no- 
thing. The  difference  between  being  holy  and 
perfect  in  intent  and  endeavor — which  is  the  state 
of  all  true  Christians  here — and  being  sinless  and 
spotless  in  realized  fact  and  effect — which  will  be 
the  state  of  all  the  saints  in  heaven — this  differ- 
ence we  cannot  know  until  we  get  among  the  expe- 
riences of  the  upper  Church  ;  not  till  then  can  we 
know  what  a  mystery  of  blessedness  and  glory 
awaits  us  as  flowing  from  those  experiences.  I 
MUCH  WONDER  what  will  be  the  feelings  of  a  sinless 
soul  among  sinless  souls,  and  in  the  presence  of 
God! 

4.  The  Church  in  Heaven  is  characterized  by 
light. 

I  speak  not  of  the  light  which  visits  these  poor, 
feeble  eyes  of  flesh,  but  of  the  true  light,  the  shin- 
ing of  TRUTH,  the  light  of  the  soul.  In  heaven 
there  is  no  error,  nor  any  to  teach  error,  concern- 
ing either  God  or  His  ways,  concerning  either  man 
or  his  destiny.  There  is  no  ignorance  in  heaven, 
as  growing  out  of  the  disuse  of  the  faculties  of  the 
mind ;  nor  any  mistake,  as  originating  in  that 
feebleness,  which  cannot  always  use  those  facul- 
ties aright.     These  and  all  other  forms  of  dark- 


340 


THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 


nessare  dispersed,  and  ''the  true  light  shineth." 
Heaven  is  full  of  truth,  of  knowledge,  and  of 
CERTAINTY.  There  are  no  heresies  to  be  cut  off 
from  that  Church  ;  no  ''  seeing  through  a  glass 
darkly ;"  all  is  ''  face  to  face  ;''  no  knowing  but 
''in  part;"  all  "know  even  as  they  also  are 
known.''  In  heaven,  truth  is  like  a  great  sea  ; 
though  shoreless  and  fathomless,  yet  transparent 
throughout ;  and  the  Christian  there  is  like  one 
who,  from  the  cliffs  of  some  beautiful  isle,  looks 
down  into  the  clear  depths,  as  they  reveal  to  him 
all  their  wonders,  and  rejoices  that  there  are  no 
limits  to  his  discoveries  but  those  which  lie  in  the 
very  boundlessness  of  the  transparency.  Is  not 
this  the  mystery  which  John  saw  in  the  Revela- 
tions, when  the  Heavenly  City  appeared  to  him 
"  as  pure  gold,  like  unto  clear  glass  ?"  Was  it  not 
the  gold  of  SIMPLE  truth,  translucent  to  the  eye  of 
the  spiritual  man  ?  And  was  not  a  similar  mys- 
tery brought  before  his  mind,  when  he  saw,  be- 
neath the  light  of  the  seven  mystic  lamps  burning 
''before  the  Throne,  a  sea  of  glass  like  unto  crys- 
tal ;  and  in  the  midst  of  the  Throne,  and  round 
about  the  Throne,  four  living  ones  full  of  eyes  ?" 
Was  it  not  the  transparent  sea  of  truth  spread 
out  beneath  the  light  of  God's  all-illuminating 
Spirit,  into  whose  clear  depths  the  eyes  of  the 
holy  ones  are  ever  looking  to  wonder  and  adore  ? 


THE  GHURGH  IN  HEA  VEK 


341 


And  who,  as  yet,  can  tell  me  the  gloiy  and  the 
blessedness  of  living  in  the  light  of  such  a  life  ? 
The  bliss  of  knowing !  Our  nature  is  brutish, 
even  here,  if  it  taste  not  something  of  the  joy. 
And  yet,  the  fullest  light,  the  highest  knowledge 
here  is  but  "  in  part ;"  it  is  all  ''  through  a  glass 
darkly.*'  0  for  perfect  truth,  perfect  light,  to 
show  us  all  that  we  desire  to  know,  and  to  stimu- 
late our  desires  to  know  all  that  an  ever-unfolding 
eternity  can  reveal,  with  the  certainty  that  every 
new  step  in  knowledge  will  be  a  new  degree  in 
glory  and  in  joy  ! 

5.  The  Church  in  Heaven  is  characterized  by 

SEPARATENESS. 

This  is  near  of  kin  to  sanctity,  and  yet,  the  term 
brings  up  a  somewhat  different  train  of  thought. 
On  earth,  even  true  Christians  are  more  or  less 
"  conformed  to  the  world  '^  in  their  tastes,  habits 
and  intercourse.  In  heaven  the  spirit  of  such 
conformity  disappears.  The  Church  there  is  sepa- 
rate from  the  world — ^not  because  walls  of  ada- 
mant and  gates  of  brass  have  been  built  between 
them,  nor  because  measureless  space  has  been  in- 
terposed to  prevent  their  association,  but — because 
the  desire  to  associate  is  unfelt.  Moral  differences 
there  are  seen  in  the  light  which  reveals  all  things  ; 
and  being  seen  are  also  felt ;  and  the  seen  and  felt 
difference  between  the  holy  and  the  unholy,  be- 


2^2  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

tween  the  worldly  and  the  unworldly,  this  is  the 
wall  that  separates  their  destinies.  This  consti- 
tutes the  measureless  distance  which  is  interposed 
between  their  eternal  abodes.  The  voice  of  God, 
which  separates  between  the  wicked  and  the  right- 
eous, is  not  a  sound  that  falls  on  the  ear  of  sense, 
but  a  conviction  that  is  uttered  into  the  heart 
of  conscience.  His  segregating  power  lies  in  the 
light  of  His  Truth,  shining  up  and  showing  all 
moral  and  spiritual  things  just  as  they  are,  and, 
with  its  revealings,  sending  home  into  the  souls  of 
the  holy  and  of  the  unhol}"  a  consciousness  of  eter- 
nal dissimilitude.  Nowhere  but  in  the  world  of 
spirits  is  that  great  truth,  which  Jesus  taught,  felt 
in  its  full  power  :  "  Every  one  that  doeth  evil 
hateth  the  light,  neither  cometh  to  the  light  lest 
his  deeds  should  be  reproved  ;  but  he  that  doeth 
truth  cometh  to  the  light,  that  his  deeds  may  be 
made  manifest  that  they  are  wrought  in  God.'' 

The  mingling,  now  referred  to  in  the  Church  on 
earth,  as  opposed  to  separateness  in  the  heavenly 
Church,  is  not  that  of  true  and  false  members  in 
the  Church,  but  that  of  the  true  members  of  Christ 
with  an  ungodly  world.  And  who  can  estimate 
the  discount,  which  is  thus  forced  upon  the  real 
dignity  and  self  respect,  and  upon  the  true  happi- 
ness and  usefulness  of  the  visible  body  of  Christ  ? 
Every  one  knows,  indeed,  when  he  reflects,  that 


THE  CHUli  GH  IN  HE  A  VEK  343 

this  conformity  to  the  world  is  incompatible  with 
either  the  real  dignity  or  the  proper  self-respect 
of  Christians  ;  and  experience,  if  they  would  con- 
sult it,  might  convince  all,  as  it  has  convinced 
myriads,  that  such  conformity  is  fearfully  ruinous 
both  to  genuine  Christian  happiness,  and  to  desired 
Christian  usefulness.  Well,  blessed  be  God  !  in 
heaven  all  this  will  be  unknown.  There  the  saints 
will  be  cured,  at  last,  of  all  their  fond  longings 
after  the  hurtful  things  which  they  have  left  be- 
hind ;  and  infinitely,  then,  will  they  be  satisfied 
with  the  new  state  of  separateness,  into  which  they 
have  been  introduced.  What  a  felt  grandeur  will 
invest  their  new  dignity  !  What  a  taste  of  sweet- 
ness will  live  in  their  divine  self-respect !  What 
a  happiness  will  they  realize  in  their  final  and  per- 
fect freedom  from  all  that  is  incongruous  in  their 
associations  !  And  what  an  immensity  of  power 
will  they  have  acquired  for  doing,  as  immortals 
love  to  do,  the  work  of  Grod  through  all  His 
worlds !  No  pride,  or  superciliousness  at  the 
thought  of  being  greater,  or  better  than  others,  but 
a  glorious  sense  of  perfect  freedom  in  being  and  in 
doing  what,  as  the  saints  of  God,  they  were  de- 
signed to  be  and  to  do !  This,  I  think,  will  be  a 
pleasing  wonder  in  the  future  Church  ! 

6.  The  Church  in  Heaven  will  be  characterized 

by  SOCIAL  FELLOWSHIP. 


344  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

This  fellowship  is  intended  to  characterize  the 
Church,  even  upon  earth  ;  and  what  is  more,  it 
was  intended  to  characterize  even  the  visible 
Church  in  this  world.  It  may  be  o.dded,  that,  in 
some  poor  measure,  this  intention  is  actually  re- 
alized ;  and  that,  as  realized,  this  fellowship  is  in- 
comparably better  and  more  satisfying  than  any 
which  the  wicked  ever  know.  But  how  poor  is  it, 
at  the  best,  in  comparison  with  what  it  ought  to  be  ! 
How  unspeakably  poor  in  comparison  with  what  it 
will  be  hereafter  ! 

In  heaven,  the  members  of  the  Church  have 
"fellowship  with  the  Father  and  with  His  Son,  Je- 
sus Christ,"  in  all  the  perfection  of  that  mystery. 
"The  Communion  of  the  Holy  Ghost"  also  is  with 
them  in  its  divinest  fullness.  But,  what  I  more 
particularly  intend  in  this  place  is — the  social  fel- 
lowship which  characterizes  the  Church  in  Heaven  ; 
the  fellowship  of  the  saints  with  one  another. 
They  have  fellowship  with  apostles  and  prophets, 
Y/ith  martyrs  and  confessors,  with  patriarchs  and 
all  the  holy  men  of  old  ;  and  they  have  this  fellow- 
ship without  alloy.  "  The  Church  of  the  lirst-born, 
which  are  written  in  heaven,"  is  called  "the  gen- 
eral ASSEMBLY."  It  is  a  company  ;  and  it  exhibits 
the  perfection  of  social  life.  It  admits  of  no  dis- 
social grades.  Diversities  of  rank,  office,  and  sta- 
tion may,  and  doubtless  will,  exist  there  ;  for  heav- 


THE  CHURCH  IN  HE  A  VEK 


345 


en  is  not  a  monotonous  human  level  ;  its  idea  is 
not  that  of  a  forced  democratic  equality  ;  it  is  a 
monarchy,  whose  monarch  is  God  ;  it  is  an  Episco- 
pacy, whose  "Bishop  of  souls"  is  Jesus  ;  and  it  is 
full  of  the  diversities  of  ever  varying  character  and 
attainments  in  perfection.  Bat,  whatever  may  be 
its  diversities,  the  wonder  of  the  heavenly  state  is, 
that  they  excite  no  separating  feeling  •  they  oppose 
no  bars  to  freedom  and  cordiality  of  intercourse. 
That  unmasterable  difficulty  of  earth  is  perfectly 
mastered  in  heaven.  There  are  no  senseless  con- 
ventionalities, no  artificial  restraints,  no  stiff  for- 
malities, no  haughty  coldnesses,  in  the  society  of 
"  the  saints  in  light."  The  loftiest  spirit  there 
feels  no  embarrassment  in  holding  open  fellowship 
with  the  lowliest  follower  of  the  Lamb  ;  but  delights 
to  sit  in  sacred  converse  and  corhmunion  with  him 
at  the  feet  of  Jesus.  And  why  should  he  not  ? 
Jesus  holds  fellowship  with  them  all ;  Jesus,  the 
Lamb,  the  lowliest,  yet  the  loftiest,  on  high!  In 
His  presence,  in  His  service,  and  in  His  Church, 
there  are  and  can  be  no  rivalries,  no  jealousies,  no 
clashing  interests,  no  great  families  to  be  built  up, 
and  enclosed,  and  kept  guarded  from  the  poor,  the 
obscure,  the  unknown.  Nothing  among  His  fol- 
lowers represses  the  indulgence  of  mutual  sympa- 
thies. They  are  all  as  He  requires  them  to  be, 
''  like  little  children  ;"  and  like  little  children  they 


346  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

act  just  as  they  feel,  and  feel  just  as  they  act. 
Mere  earthly  titles,  earthly  wealth  and  earthly 
prejudices  are  left  down  in  the  grave,  side  by  side 
with  the  obscurity,  the  indigence,  and  the  depres- 
sion of  the  once  suffering  children  of  God.  Differ- 
ences of  race,  of  color  and  of  clime  are  unknown  ; 
and  the  worshippers  in  the  heavenly  sanctuary,  the 
guests  at  the  sacrament  above,  having  laid  aside 
these  their  incumbrances,  and  dropped  all  their 
badges  of  earthly  distinction,  stand  up,  in  a  nobler 
fellowship  than  earth  can  know,  the  fellowship,  in 
all  their  heavenly  ranks,  of  "  the  spirits  of  just 
men  made  perfect." 

Is  there  not  something  in  our  souls  which  longs 
for  such  a  fellowship  as  that  ?  And  is  it  not  possi- 
ble for  us  to  do  something  towards  bringing  down 
a  little  of  it  to  ease  and  limber  the  poor,  straight- 
ened, manacled  state  of  our  present  social  Church 
life? 

7.  The  Church  in   Heaven  is  characterized  by 

GLORY. 

When  presented  in  heaven,  it  is  to  be  presented 
as  "  a  GLORIOUS  Church  ;"  and  its  glory  will  be  the 
clustering  around  it  of  all  the  perfections  which 
have  been  named,  together  with  the  shining  on 
its  brow  of  a  crown,  made  up  of  the  light  and  the 
likeness  of  God  and  the  Lamb.  But  there  is  a  still 
further  glory  in  the  heavenly  Church  ;  a  glory  by 


THE  CHURCH  IN  HE  A  YEN.  347 

which  our  present  sympathies  may  be  more  easily 
touched.  There  is  a  glory  iu  the  rest,  in  the  joy, 
and  in  the  actioin^  of  that  Church. 

There  is  a  glory  in  its  eest.  No  sorrow,  no  suf- 
fering, no  tears,  no  death  can  darken,  or  dim  its 
radiance.  Its  rest,  however,  is  not  listlessness,  nor 
dreamy  sleep.  It  is  like  the  calm,  which  sur- 
rounds the  moveless  throne  of  God  ;  a  living,  wak- 
ing calm  ;  a  repose  fearless  of  interruption,  and 
full  of  power. 

There  is,  too,  a  glory  in  its  joy.  It  is  a  beaming 
of  ''all  the  fullness  of  Grod"  through  that  living 
sanctuary.  The  joy  of  the  Church  in  heaven  is  the 
sunlight  of  eternal  happiness  shining  into  the 
souls  that  worship  there.  It  is  the  everlasting  light 
of  God's  love  in  their  hearts,  streaming  out  and 
around,  like  a  forth-shining  divinity,  upon  all  in 
heaven  ;  till  Jesus  and  His  saints  seem  one  in  its 
illimitable  brightness. 

And  there  is  glory  in  its  action.  All  right  and 
good  and  great  action  is  glorious.  In  heaven  this 
glory  is  complete.  The  action  of  the  Church  there 
combines  the  strength,  the  intelligence,  and  the 
harmony  of  one  perfect  Body,  governed  by  one 
perfect  Head,  moved  by  one  perfect  Will,  and  tend- 
ing to  one  perfect  good.  The  members  of  that 
Body  are  unfainting  spirits.  **  They  rest  not  day 
and  night "  in  their  divine  employ.     No  clogs  of 


348 


THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 


sense,  no  burden  of  the  flesh,  no  dull  and  weary 
and  earthly  affections  weigh  them  down.  In  their 
worship  they  never  flag  ;  in  their  search  for  knowl- 
edge they  never  tire  ;  in  their  "  labors  of  love  " 
they  never  grow  heartless.  Energies  worthy  of 
the  redeemed  are  alive  there.  Whether  they  sing 
the  song  of  those  who  have  been  saved,  or  study 
adoringly  into  the  wonders  of  the  Divine  Charac- 
ter and  plan  of  Eedemption  ;  or  wander  discur- 
sive amid  the  boundless  works  of  God  ;  or  trace 
the  streams  of  knowledge  up  to  their  fountains  in 
the  eternal  hills  ;  whether  they  do  one,  or  another, 
or  all  of  these  things,  they  alike  put  forth  the 
activities  of  free  and  noble,  sinless  and  mighty 
spirits.     Their  activities  are  all-glorious. 

How  little  can  w^e  know  on  earth  of  such  glorious 
rest,  fllled  with  such  glorious  joy,  and  kindred  with 
such  glorious  action  !  Yet,  Lord,  send  down  upon 
Thy  poor  Church,  even  here,  somewhat  of  the  rich 
glory  that  awaits  her  ! 

8.  And  finally,  the  Church  in  Heaven  is  charac- 
terized by  SAFETY. 

She  is  past  all  disastrous  change.  The  ''  Father's 
House  of  many  mansions  ''  is  her  eternal  home  ; 
His  Kingdom  of  exhaustless  richness  is  her  eternal 
heritage  ;  and  His  fidelity,  of  infinite  tenderness,  is 
her  eternal  keeper.  In  this  she  has  passed  quite 
beyond  all  present  experience  of  the  Church  on 


THE  CHURCH  IJST  HEAVEK 


349 


earth.  This  Church  is  still  "  militant,"  and  many 
of  the  chequered  incidents  of  "  the  holy  war  "  lie 
still  before  her.  Through  battles  and  sieges,  re- 
verses and  successes,  defeats  and  victories,  she  still 
holds  her  course.  Security  she  may  at  times  peri- 
lously indulge,  but  safety  she  can  never  really 
enjoy,  until  she  reaches  the  home,  the  heritage  and 
the  keeping  of  her  heavenly  Head.  This  safety 
is  the  special  portion  of  the  Church  in  Heaven  ; 
and  how  divinely  full  it  is  of  blessedness  ;  what 
emphasis  it  gives  to  ''  the  peace  of  God  Which  pas- 
seth  all  understanding !" 

The  Church  in  Heaven,  then,  is  past  all  disas- 
trous change.  It  wades  not  through  the  blood  and 
fires  of  successive  Pagan  persecutions.  It  passes 
through  no  night  of  Darkling  Ages.  It  whets  no 
sword,  prepares  no  torture,  and  contrives  no  death, 
for  those  servants  of  Grod,  who  refuse  to  bow  their 
necks  to  the  yoke  of  error.  It  quakes  amid  the 
throes  of  no  violent  Reformation.  It  languishes 
not  amid  returning  slumber,  declension  and  decay. 
It  dips  no  pen  in  the  gall  of  controversy  to  stir  up 
strife  and  teach-  brethren  how  to  hate.  It  wars  not 
against  the  Word  of  God.  It  cloaks  no  infidelity 
and  no  sensuality  under  the  forms  of  cumbrous  and 
unmeaning  ceremony.  It  commits  no  mistakes  by 
attempting  to  fashion  or  facilitate  the  providences 
supposed  to  be  necessary  to  the  fulfilment  of  unful- 


350  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

filled  prophecy.  Nor  does  it  lie  asleep  while  the 
Bridegroom  is  really  coming  to  that  fulfilment. 
But,  past  all  such  historic  sadnesses,  purified  from 
all  defiling  mixtures,  and  made  perfect  by  the  dis- 
cipline of  the  Ages,  it  rests  on  immovable  founda- 
tions a  Heavenly  Church,  full  of  God,  of  His  light, 
of  His  love,  and  of  His  praise  ! 

Such  is  the  Church  in  Heaven!  "The  King's 
daughter  is  all-glorious  within  ;  and  her  clothing 
is  of  wrought  gold."  In  describing  her,  I  have 
dealt  in  no  vain  imaginations.  The  gold  of  which 
her  vesture  is  wrought,  is  dug  from  the  eternal 
mineS;  as  laid  open  in  the  field  of  inspired  truth  ; 
of  truth  inspired  by  Him  to  whom  all  secret  things 
in  heaven  and  earth  are  visible.  The  characteris- 
tics of  the  Church  in  glory  are  all  characteristics 
of  the  Church  in  humiliation  ;  only  they  are  but 
imperfectly  manifested  in  this  world,  or  are  seen 
only  in  possibilities,  as  foreshadows  of  their  com- 
ing reality.  Their  perfection  is  seen  nowhere  but 
in  that  world,  where  God  appears  unveiled  to  the 
eye  of  His  "  saints  in  light." 

And  now,  could  I  suppose  these  thoughts  ad- 
dressed to  any  who  have  heretofore  been  thought- 
less and  careless  of  their  souls,  I  would  ask  of 
them  one  parting  question.  Will  you  go  and  join 
that  "glorious  Church"  at  which  we  have  been 
looking  ;  the  Church  "  without  spot  or  wrinkle  ;" 


THE  CHURCH  IN  HE  A  VEK  3  ^  i 

the  Church  which  is  ''  holy  and  without  blemish  f 
If  you  hope  to  live  in  heaven,  you  must  become 
willing,  nay,  fit,  to  become  members  of  the  Church 
in  Heaven.     But  how  is  this  ?    Multitudes  hesitate. 
Multitudes  are  not  ready  to  join  even  the  Church 
on  earth.     They  do  not  feel  prepared,  or  fit,  for 
fellowship  with  the  saints  in  this  their  compara- 
tively imperfect  state.     How,   then,  can  they  go 
and  join  that  ''glorious  Church^'  above?     And 
yet,   join  it  they  must,   if  they  ar.e   ever  there. 
There  is  not  and  never  will  be,  a  human  soul  in 
heaven  who  is  not,  at  the  same  time,  a  member  of 
the  Church  in  Heaven.     Would  to  God  men  were 
ready  for  Church-membership  even  here,  sincere, 
believing   and   affectionate   membership  with    the 
true,  though  as  jQi  but  partially  sanctified  disci- 
ples of  Christ!     On  such  a  readiness  the  benig- 
nant Father,  God,  would  smile,  and  ripen  it,  as  His 
sunshine   ripens  our   swelling   fruits   into  a  rich 
and  perfect  meetness  for  what  awaits  His  own  in 
heaven  ! 

But  the  subject,  thus  carried  up  to  its  final  issues, 
respects,  specially,  those  who  are  already  members 
of  ih^  Church  on  earth  ;  and  the  principal  thought 
which  it  should  keep  alive  in  their  minds  is  this  : 
the  members  of  the  Church  on  earth  ought  to  regu- 
late their  whole  course  of  life,  association,  habit, 
and  feeling,  with  reference  to  future  membership 


352  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 

in  the  Church  in  Heaven.  The  true  Church  here 
is  more  than  a  type  of  the  glorified  Church  there. 
This  earthly  is  more  than  a  "  pattern  "  of  that 
heavenly  thing.  They  are  but  parts  of  one  and 
the  same  ''  communion  and  fellowship."  The 
earthly  passes  into  the  heavenly.  The  one  is  a 
school  for  education  and  discipline  ;  the  other,  is 
the  society  of  alumni,  graduated  into  an  end- 
less life  of  action  and  enjo3"ment.  The  one  is 
the  porch  ;  the  other,  the  great  temple  itself.  The 
one  is  youth,  tender  and  impressible  ;  the  other, 
manhood,  firm  and  vigorous.  If,  then,  the  child 
should  carefully  train  and  fashion  himself  for  the 
duties  and  the  destiny  of  the  man,  so  should  the 
Christian  on  earth  regulate  his  whole  course  of 
life,  association,  habit  and  feeling  with  strict  refer- 
ence to  his  future  standing  as  a  member  of  the 
Church  in  Heaven.  He  should  do  everything  here 
which  he  would  approve  there,  and  nothing  here 
which  he  would  there  condemn.  Imperfect  light 
and  knowledge  here  may  prevent  his  always  see- 
ing what  he  would  there  either  approve  or  con- 
demn ;  and  the  feebleness  of  nature  amid  the 
powers  of  the  world  may  sometimes  render  him 
unable  to  do  or  to  avoid  what  he  knows  he  ought 
to  do  or  to  avoid  ;  but,  so  far  as  he  can  see,  or  be 
made  to  see,  what  would  be  either  approved  or 
condemned  in  heaven,  and  so  far  as  he  has,  or  can 


THE  CHUIICH  IN  HE  A  YEN.  3 

obtain,  strength  either  to  do  or  to  avoid  the  doing 
of  it;  he  should  scrupulously  regulate  the  presen^t 
with  reference  to  the  future.     He  should  habitually 
live  as  though  his  next  communion  were  to  be  made 
in  ''  the  Church  of  the  first-born  "  and  at  the  table 
in  heaven !     And  yet,  how  few,  among  professing 
Christians,  ever  think  of  making  this  the  rule  of 
their  present  life !     How  few,  by  this  rule,  regu- 
late their  intercourse  with  the  world !     How  few 
by  this  regulate  their  intercourse  even  with  their 
fellow-Christians  !     How  few  think  of  this  either 
in  their  business  or  in  their  devotions,  and  how 
few  practice  according  to  it  either  in  their  plea- 
sures or  in  their  charities  ! 

The  cases  in  which  these  suggestions  will  apply 
themselves,  can  be  known  only,  or  may  be  known 
best,  by  each  individual  member  in  the  Church  of 
Christ.     These  thoughts,  however,  must  not  have 
their  close  without  an  expression  of  the  deep  and 
solemn  conviction  that,  if  there  can  be  tears  in 
that  world  where  ''  all  tears  are  wiped  away  from 
all  faces,"  Christians  will  shed  them  when   they 
come  to  look  down  from  their  seats  on  high  upon 
•the  courses  in  life  which  they  have  been  pursuing ; 
upon  the  present  state  of  their  associations,  their 
habits  and  their  feelings  ;  so  full  of  conformity  to 
the  world,  so  dull,  so  languid,  so  selfish,  so  slow 
to  good,  so  little  like  what  they  ought  to  be  who 
23 


354  THE  LIVING  TEMPLE. 


profess  to  believe  that  their  names  are  ''  weitten 

IN  HEAVEN  !" 

Let  us  all  listen  to  the  voice  vrhich  is  sounding 
in  our  ears  :  ''Awake,  thou  that  steepest,  and  arise 
from  the  dead,  and  Christ  shall  give  thee  light :" 
and,  as  we  hear,  let  us  all  arouse  ourselves,  "  gird 
up  the  loins  of  our  minds,"  and  henceforth  live 
like  men  who  do  indeed  *'  wait  for  their  Lord." 


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,VA^i 


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